Mind Games
by unicoranglais
Summary: When Mioda gains the ability to brainwash anyone she pleases, she figures nothing could go wrong from here - no free will means no murders. But Koizumi's newfound mind-reading can undo Mioda's work... and since she can't tell what the brainwashed are thinking, she thinks Mioda's intentions are more sinister. Sue turns on Sue, and all hell breaks loose on Jabberwock Island!
1. Prologue: Trouble In Paradise

The book landed in front of her. Even if it hadn't done quite that, it still made a heavy _thud_ on the white beach sand, a sound that made her take notice, pick it up. She gave it a cursory look, but for now where it had actually come from was for more important - so she checked first left, then right, then up, then looked back over her shoulder. There didn't seem to be anyone around to have thrown or dropped it, and that made her frown. There wasn't any convenient overhang or tree branch for it to have fallen from, either - that made her frown even more.

Had it really appeared from thin air? Since she was a very logical girl, Koizumi tried not to think about that too much, though she definitely scowled as she studied the book. It was a battered, black wreck of a thing; tattered and torn. The title was unreadable, and half the pages threatened to fall from the rotting binding when she opened it up. However, they retained something like a death grip on it - and so the only thing that actually drifted to the sand was a clean white note that had been placed just inside the cover. Curious as to how something had stayed so pristine when she'd found it, she bent and picked it back up. After a pause, she flipped it over, and found an odd little thing scribbled there:

_If you want to save their lives, read this._

_– A Friend_

She raised an eyebrow at that, glancing about herself once more before turning her attention back to the book. To her, saving anyone's life was ridiculous - she _hated _to think in such a hopeless fashion when it was exactly what the bear wanted, but it was surely only a matter of time before their little group had a death on their hands. For now, things were peaceful, but Koizumi wasn't stupid. She'd taken enough photos to know that there were tensions bubbling under the smiles in the photographs she'd gotten of those stranded here, even though it was only their first day – Hinata's strained expression, Togami's cold gaze, the way Souda stood so casually that it crossed several lines and became extraordinarily tense. Soon, soon, though she didn't want to admit it, someone _would_ die, and there would be nothing she could do about. Perhaps shewould be the first person to go, and she was certainly in a good place to be killed. Socially, she was the pushy girl not even Sonia appreciated, and in terms of the location, she was all alone on a beach in the middle of nowhere. If this wasn't prime murder scenario material, she wasn't entirely sure what was.

_Unless this book can seriously save lives, _she thought, but was quick to stop herself there - she'd never heard of such a thing. The note was most definitely a lie – and yet, she was curious. Koizumi gave the book one last, doubtful look, before turning to the first page. It wasn't in a language she could understand; it looked something like French or German, or at least it was composed of English letters, each arranged to make words she didn't understand at all. With a snort, the redhead flipped though - perhaps there was dictionary in the back - but only gibberish greeted her – different symbols, different handwriting, but all at about the same level of nonsense. How was she supposed to read any of this?

Maybe she should take it to Sonia. this could be a valuable clue of some sort– and then her fingers brushed across the last page. This in itself wasn't any big deal, more a statement of how hopeless it was to try and read the book than anything else, but as she did that, _the book caught on fire_. It burned, it spontaneously combusted, it smoked, it blazed, and honestly it took a moment for the significance of this to sink in, so ridiculous and unlikely it was. But when it did sink in, the photographer, having no small amount of common sense, dropped the book.

Or at least, she triedto.

Dropping the book, as it turned out, was impossible. She jumped back and let go of it, yes, but the damned thing didn't _fall._ It just hovered in the air, and kept right on being on fire, blue and green flames licking up its sides. Koizumi could feel the heat, was half-blinded by the new light source, and overall was so very surprised that she tripped over her own feet in her attempts to get away, and ended up sprawled in the sand in front of it. She couldn't move, only watch, see how one by one, the thing's pages were flicking backwards. And - maybe it was her imagination, but in those terrifying moments, Koizumi thought she could recognize every blue–tinged word that flew by. It was an instruction manual of some sort, but not a _sensible_ sort – she caught one too many references to _mind–reading_, and _brainwashing_, and-

_Wait, was that my name–?!_

But how the text had apparently changed to something intelligible, how the thing was on fire and floating, and how the book _knew_ who had just touched it were not things the photographer could think about right now. She snapped out of her stunned state, scrambling to her feet, escape all that she could consider – she had to get away from the book, before something worse happened, something along the lines of 'large, possibly mystical fireball to the head'. Glancing over her shoulder towards the waves, Koizumi slowly began to back away, towards the sea. Perhaps, her panicked mind reasoned, she could put out the flames if she managed to make it there.

It took a few seconds for her to realize it, but the thing was _following_ her, floating along with those pages flicking backwards one by one. It had made it halfway through the book now, and she could have sworn that the enormous flames weren't red and purple when the whole mess had started. She didn't want to think about what would happen if it made it to the start of the book. One step, two, the soothing sound of the sea becoming ever louder, the familiar softness of wet sand against her shoes. She was almost there, just one more step, just one more–

The rest of the pages fell to the ground in a smoldering heap, leaving only a miniature fireball floating in the air. The sea seemed to hold its breath with Koizumi in those two seconds of awkward silence – and then the thing lunged for her and she was stumbling back with a screamed expletive that no sensible girl should know, and one that no sensible writer would ever print. That word brought her no peace of mind, though - there was only a light bright enough to qualify for a blank Word document in reply, and then a white–hot pain in her chest and cool water against her back. Everything was going wrong, everything was painful, and there was no familiarity left, nothing but white light and pain, not even a splash when she fell flat on her back in the shallows, just a screeching, louder than the worst of Mioda's guitar playing – wait, no, that was her own voice–!

A crescendo, and then a dreadful quiet.


	2. Chapter One: Safety Catch

Koizumi woke up.

And it was – unfortunately for the good old 'just a dream' cliche – in a place unfamiliar. She would have very much liked to think that she had just woken up for an awful nightmare, and so she spent a full minute arguing with herself. The lighting was off, the paint on the ceiling peeling, but perhaps she just hadn't noticed those things about her cabin before, maybe the mattress had always been this soft and the roof so far away, and it went on in this fashion, a bizarre display of logic that wasn't all that logical at all. Real logic reared its head as she came to her senses a little more, and with it, came across the idea that the matter could only be resolved if she moved. Yes, it hurt to move, but the photographer was nothing if not strong–willed, and now she had a good reason to do it, she tried. With a soft whine, she managed to roll onto her side, and – no, she was most definitely not in her room.

She was lying on an old mattress, in a small place with clean white walls. There was a bed crammed into the corner opposite her, and medical equipment of every shape and size taking up the rest of the space. The sound of the sea was faint compared to the loud, insistent beeping of the machine closest to her, but it was _there,_ proving that she was still on this blasted island. Still very sleepy, she didn't quite know what was more irritating, the machine's noise or this realization.

"A–ah! U–uh... um..." The door clicked open, and there stood Tsumiki, wringing her hands in a show of nerves. She was worried, just as she always was worried. She was worried that Koizumi might hate her for her sudden entrance, worried that the others might hate her for leaving early from breakfast today to look after her patient – but most of all, she was worried that Koizumi would hate her thoroughly for not being there right when she woke up. The nurse carefully picked her way across the room, and there was a new worry with every step - that she might trip and fall, that her patient would take a photo of the embarrassing pose, or perhaps even _laugh._

When she eventually stood at the side of the mattress, she took a deep breath, and then tried desperately to think of what she was going to say, even as she spoke, the words tumbling out of her mouth: "I–I, um.. ah–! I–I didn't think that y–you would ever wa–" She stopped, and Koizumi shuddered at how Tsumiki was thinking about ending that sentence - but fortunately for all concerned, she changed tact to something distinctly less morbid. "I–I d–didn't think you were..._ going t–to_, um... W–w–wake up s–so, um, fast?"

_Wait, how did **I**_ _know all that?_

Wondering if she was still dreaming, the photographer closed her eyes, and Tsumiki's thought–stream simply _stopped. _She relaxed a little at the general lack of a worried and confused monologue, enough that she almost forgot that the girl had kind of asked a question, or at least her voice had risen as though she'd intended to ask one. No, actually - Koizumi did forget all about the question, or at least drifted off until Tsumiki made a worried little noise. At this point, she remembered that an answer was needed, whatever the question had actually been; everything was very confused, very sleepy. She tried to clear her throat, but it came out as a rough series of coughs that burned, and seconds later there was a trembling hand propping her up and a piece of soft plastic in her mouth, a cool liquid dribbling from it.

"H–here. D–drink a little..."

And it wasn't like she'd have normally appreciated someone doing that, but she was tired enough and confused enough to swallow. This made her throat burn a little less, and so she _drank_, downing the contents of the bottle as fast as she dared, her eyes still firmly closed. "I–I'm so sorry about this–!" Tsumiki was saying. "I–I should have g–g–given y–you a tube, b–but–!"

"It's okay–?" Koizumi mumbled around the bottle, pulling away from it as best she could – not an easy task, given that it was still being held in her face. The nurse automatically shrank back at the move, then realized her mistake far too late and let out a startled noise as with no–one holding her up, the photographer flopped back onto the mattress.

"S–sorry! L–let me help–!"

"I'm _fine!_" Koizumi snapped, squirming around in an attempt to sit up again, but Tsumiki was apparently deaf in her panic. She took the photographer and propped her up once more, one arm around her waist and the other brushing against her chest. The photographer opened her eyes in reflex, and instantly worry hit her like an oncoming train, worry about dropping her earlier, about dropping her _now_, about being a terrible nurse, of failing nursing exams, but most of all the worry that Koizumi would look down.

Needless to say, that is exactly what she proceeded to do.

And, perhaps even more needless to say, she regretted it.

There was a noise unprintable, a series of words unprintable for another reason entirely, and then she went back to screaming incoherence. This had something to do with the sight of the plain white singlet, neatly rolled up just under her ribs – but _mostly_ to do with the sight of the rather bloodied bandages neatly wrapped about her lower torso. At her own noise, worried thoughts from Tsumiki went three times faster, adding to the photographer's own panic. Oh, Koizumi was going to _hate _her for this, for not restraining her and pulling blankets over the injury straight away, and it was going to be just like everyone hated her, everyone hated her no matter what she did, she was so, so, _so_ sorry. The other girl photographer couldn't move enough to put her hands over her ears, and so Tsumiki's thought-train headed for something like a cliff, worrying the whole way and dragging her along behind. "S–stop it!" someone whimpered, and after a few seconds Koizumi registered that she'd said that herself.

"Ahhh, um – I–it's okay, I–I–promise–! Y–you're going to b–be okay–! I–I'll jump o–off a cliff if you're n–not!"

Koizumi hunched over as best she could given the bandages that went from her waist up to just below her ribcage, trying desperately to stay calm. Given Tsumiki's incessant apologies in her ears and in her mind, it wasn't easy. "D–don't worry about it. Please don't worry… Just tell me what happened."

_You almost died_, said Tsumiki's thoughts, _and I'm so, so, so, so sorry, please don't hate me–_

"U–uh, Hinata found you", she babbled out loud, and Koizumi knew this was the truth, since the nurse's by far overactive mind was replaying the memory. It was rushed, and some parts were distinctly blurred and warped by her worries, but the basic points were all there." H–he, um, fainted, but b–before that – uh, er, h–he screamed so loudly th–that Mioda started screaming t–too... Um... Then I–I ran after her, a–and then a lot of things h–happened..."

Koizumi just nodded and closed her eyes, relishing the silence that Tsumiki's pause and the abrupt disappearance of her thought–stream created. It was ever so nice, after what she'd just been through, and as such she nearly didn't draw the link, lost in enjoyment.

_Eh-?_

Curious, she mustered up all her remaining strength and opened one eye to look at the nurse. Worried thoughts filled her mind – thoughts about Koizumi's health, whether or not bad news can kill people instantly, whether or not the patient dying would be classified as murder. When she closed her eye, she was left in peace and quiet.

_How interesting,_ she thought dozily. With this little ability, she could stop everyone from killing. With this, no–one would be _able_ to kill, because she'd always be there, ready to spoil their plans. With this, everyone would be friends, because she'd always know exactly where tensions were forming and would be able to resolve them.

With this, everyone would be safe.

* * *

When the girls first arrived on the scene, Tsumiki ran to first Hinata, then Koizumi, checking for a pulse. Apparently both were still alive, because shortly afterwards, the nurse dragged the photographer from the shallows, and laid her next to the other patient, hastily pulling bandages from her apron and getting to work. Mioda, however, had other ideas. It wasn't like she was lazy, but she figured she'd just done her part, leading the nurse to the scene. There wasn't much she could do in the situation, as she quickly figured that any attempts to help would surely only get her shooed away. So, after attempting to help the other girl and, indeed, getting shooed, the guitarist looked left and right for something to do.

"Looking, looking, looking", she mumbled to herself, turning in a slow circle, and brightening when she caught a glint of something over in the sand dunes. "Looking, looking, lookeeeee– Eeeee! Ding–dong, Ibuki's got it!" Of course, she waited for a second to see if Tsumiki might forget her troubles and come and look at her prize - a brand–new paperback with a glossy white cover. When this didn't happen, she went bounding over to it, and it was with her hands shaking ("So much excitement, Ibuki can barely handle it – look, she's trembling all over!") that Mioda flicked through the pages - slowly at first, but then faster as she realized that nothing in the book seemed to be in a language she could understand, that or the handwriting was just that dire.

"Ahhh… A fetch-quest! Ibuki'll have to consult Sonia–chan for more inf- eh?"

That was when she reached the final page, and was so surprised that she stopped for a long moment, reading several times over the charred and burned note that had been placed there.

_If you want to save their lives, read this._

_– A Friend_

"Uh, Mikan–chan–! If those two are corpses, Ibuki thinks she's got the motive!" she called, but Tsumiki wasn't listening. Having sighed several times in her general direction and gotten no response, Mioda set off down the beach towards the lodge. She was intending to tell the others what had happened to Koizumi and Hinata, she really was, but – well, she also had a possible motive right there in her hands, and soon enough this realization was enough to make her stop. The guitarist stared at the book, then glanced back towards where the nurse was tending to the rest, then carefully stepped out of sight, moving up the beach and behind the dunes. She'd surely look stupid if she showed up with a clue without having tried to translate it, and stupid wasn't very stylish. And, besides – if there was really a way to save everyone on this island, Mioda wanted to know about it, _pronto._

She hesitated a split second longer, but a mix of curiosity and impatience got the better of her, and she turned back to the first page. Bizarrely enough, it was now readable, the handwriting far neater than it had been not that long ago. She must have turned over two pages when she'd first attempted to read the book, because it wasn't just readable, it was even in her language, even though it was effectively nonsense. '_BRAINWASHING FOR BEGINNERS'_, the book declared, and Mioda outright giggled at that, then hastily covered her mouth, just in case someone heard and came to see what the fuss was about. This wasn't a motive she should bother the others over, just a stupid fantasy book. Not even the sort of thing she liked much - there didn't seem to be any characters or setting or adjectives, just dull and dry instructions.

_To brainwash, simply look someone in the eyes'_, the book droned, and Mioda rolled her own eyes at the suggestion. If that worked, she would surely have brainwashed someone a long, long time ago - she was no stranger to staring contests. '_However, mind–readers cannot be brainwashed at all. Others have a natural resistance, some may be strong-willed, and glasses or contacts can interfere with the brainwashing_', it went on, and that got another giggle. After all, of course the author was making up excuses for why it wouldn't work. The author couldn't be sued if they just failed to say that _everyone _was resistant, could they?

As for the mind–readers – the guitarist tried to brush that one off, she really did, but the book seemed to be hell bent on including them, making its own stupid idea even more stupid. '_Always keep the brainwashed away from mind–readers', _it rambled. _'If the brainwashed makes prolonged eye contact with a mind–reader, the brainwashed will return to normal state. As the mind–reader cannot read the intentions of the brainwasher or the brainwashed, and the brainwasher cannot brainwash the mind–reader, the two are natural enemies. Be very careful of–_

"Hey! What's up?"

And suddenly Souda was there, interrupting before Mioda could read further or give even more sarcastic inner commentary, standing over her with a goofy smile sprawled across his sharklike features. She wanted to glare, but she only smiled, and he bought it, perhaps because he was an idiot or perhaps because she was very good at smiling even when she didn't feeling like it. "Hey, Kazuichi–chan! Ibuki's spirits are totally up in the air, but Mahiru–chan's down! Where's he at, hmmm? Up? Down? Left? Right? A? B?"

The mechanic thought about this as though it was some great riddle. He looked in each direction before the meaning finally clicked, and he grinned, stretching his arms up behind his head."Well, I guess I'm all ri– _what the hell?_" And here, he jumped back, waving his arms about. "That thing, it's-!"

Mioda glanced down, and cut loose with a shrill shriek that Souda echoed, though he drew it out longer and even higher. Not that she could really comment on that, since the guitarist had a much bigger problem: the book was on fire in her hands. "M–maybe Ibuki should drop it?" she whimpered, looking to the mechanic for advice - though the flames didn't seem to be burning her and made no sound, the thing didn't _look_ nice to hold. "I mean, it's not hurting her or anything, so..."

In that moment, their eyes met – and weirdly given how good Souda was at not meeting people's gazes for very long, he couldn't look away. Intrigued enough by this possibly romantic gesture to forget all about the book burning in her grip, Mioda carried on staring, only realizing what she might be doing when Souda eventually took one faltering step forwards, then another, his face going from complete terror into a neutral, slack–jawed look that made him look sillier than usual. One more step, and then his body seemed to sag, tilting slightly to the left as his arms fell to his sides. Eventually, his head slumped to the left, eyes glazing over, and he moved no more, just _stood _there.

This was, overall, probably not a sign that he'd fallen madly in love with her at first stare.

"Earth to Kazuichi–chan?" Mioda squeaked, flapping one hand in front of his face. Souda didn't blink, just kind of _stood_ there, swaying in the wind, and it was only then that the guitarist realized what might have happened. This was exactly what the book had described, after all - she'd looked at someone, and he had lost his free will.

"Um... Okay. If you can hear Ibuki, could you jump up and down?"

The mechanic didn't move.

Mioda heaved a sigh of relief. "Whew! So, Kazuichi–chan's not brainwashed! He's just turned into a zombie for no reason! Now all Ibuki's got to worry about is a possible zombie plague." She paused, then shook her head. "Wait, never mind - one, that's a _huge_ worry, and two, maybe Ibuki's just not doing it right. Hmm."

There was no response, unless Souda's lean too far to the left counted as one. As he ended up slumped and drooling against a palm tree, the guitarist flipped through the book to try and figure out how she could make the guy go back to normal. It took her a good few minutes - the book was nothing if not horribly long–winded, it was hard to read given the constant flicker of the fire. Ibuki wasn't the most patient of people, especially not knowing that if she failed to get the mechanic looking at all normal, she was going to have a lot of explaining to do, and her searching quickly became frantic. Eventually, she managed to reach an exercise of some sort, and squinted for a few seconds before breaking out into a smile.

"Ah! Ibuki's got to _think_ her directions at Kazuichi–chan - sooo, he's not a zombie after all! No plague! Isn't that great?"

_If it worked, jump up and down!_

Mioda could feel something like a light protest against it, something stirring and grumbling about Physical Education - but the guy still sprang up into the air, narrowly missing the palm tree he'd flopped against. No sooner had he landed, then he leaped up again, and again, and again, thumping down into a larger depression with each landing. The guitarist had to think about what this actuallymeant, but realization kicked in somewhere around the seventh spectacular leap, and she grinned, watching him jump until she remembered that he wasn't about to stop until she made him.

_Uh... Kazuichi–chan can stop now. Really._

At that, the mechanic froze mid–air and crashed to the ground in a tangled heap. Something went _crack_ that probably shouldn't have, and Mioda flinched at the sound, wincing when he didn't even react. He really didn't have a shred of free will - she was going to have to tell him exactly how to act, and she wasn't so sure she could act a convincing Souda.

_So, uh. Act normal, maybe?_

She wasn't expecting that to work at all - it would have been far too easy - but much to her surprise, the guy got up, looking vaguely like himself as he wiped the drool off with the back of his hand. Things went downhill quickly, though - he soon scowled, turning on her with a snarl that didn't match how weak his words were. "Wh– wh–wh–whaaaaaaat the hell?! What did you do to me, huh? Don't tell me we've got a witch running around–! I don't th–think we've got any stakes here, so–"

_Okay, actually – no remembering getting brainwashed._

The mechanic blinked, then grinned, rubbing at the back of his neck. "Huh... I think I spaced out for a minute there. What were we doing again? Did I say hello?"

Mioda mumbled something like a "yeah", then looked down for the book in the awkward silence that hung between them – the thing had disappeared, but no matter. She didn't need it - with this ability alone, she could stop everyone from killing. With this, everyone would be friends, because she'd _make _them friends. With this, there would be no fights, because she'd stop them in their tracks. With this, life would be perfectly peaceful, there would definitely not be any killings, and maybe that awful bear would get bored enough to just let them go.

_With this, everyone's gonna be safe._


	3. Chapter Two: Breaking Point

Koizumi woke once again, to find an old, battered black book in her hand. There wasn't any way of knowing for sure, but given how many old, black, battered books she'd seen on the island, she could hazard a guess as to what it was. She stared at it for a time, but soon tucked it under her pillow - a Herculean effort given her injury, though it was probably for the best that no–one aside from her attempt reading it. After all, the photographer didn't want anyone else to cop a fireball to the chest. And besides, if someone else was to know about her ability, her plan to keep the peace could be compromised.

A pause, then she realized how silly both reasons were, and frowned, retrieving the book. She'd surely been delusional when the mind–reading had happened, just as she had been delusional when the book decided to randomly attack her. It certainly wasn't on fire or floating now, lending extra credit to that theory, but just to prove that the volume wasn't at all dangerous now, Koizumi opened it. Unlike yesterday, she could read what was written there, and just to prove the point that yesterday's whole saga had been some weird hallucination, the photographer decided to read the entirety of the first page.

_'MIND–READING FOR BEGINNERS'_

A pity that the subject happened to fit with what she'd experienced earlier, but - maybe this was just some form of deja vu? No, no - it _had _to be that, it couldn't be anything more.

_'To mind–read, simply look at someone. The reading itself is automatic, and does not need to be forced unless the target is resistant to the reading. Contacts or glasses may also interfere with the reading. One may be able to mind–read automatically if the target is very close - closing one's eyes or covering the eyes of others is the only sure way to block out thoughts. If a mind cannot be read, that person is either resistant, brainwashed or the brainwasher. If this is the case, prolonged eye contact with the brainwashed will cause them to return to normal state. As the mind–reader cannot read the intentions of the brainwasher or the brainwashed, and the brainwasher cannot brainwash the mind–reader, the two are natural enemies. Be very careful of–'_

And she never made it past the first page, because then there was a flurry of footsteps, and a yell of "_Mioda, she's sleeping!_", followed by sounds of a scuffle and no small amount of childish giggling that gave Koizumi ample warning of the approach. The musician was absolutely the last person who needed to know about a total fantasy like this – who knows, she might actually _believe _it. Since the photographer didn't want or need another Tanaka running around, she was quick to pull the covers over the book.

A moment later, Mioda stuck her head into the room, she grinned joyfully at the sight of the patient, winked, then retreated. A muffled "One, two, three", and then she reappeared, throwing the door wide with an announcement that made the walls shake with the sheer volume of it (or maybe that was just the result of the door slamming into the nearest wall with an almighty crash; Koizumi wasn't sure):

"Hey, she's awake! Everyone, come say 'hello', 'hey', 'hiya', 'greetings', or as they love to say on the internet, 'this is terrible'! Ibuki reckons there should be a _Yay, No–one's Dead_ party, right here and now! What does Mahiru–chan think?" Barely a heartbeat's worth of silence, and then she was on the move again. "Ibuki'll take that awed quiet as a yes, so - oooh, she's definitely got to go and organize it! Which means, it's time for Ibuki's not-so-portable-but-highly-personal organizer! Hey, Byakuya–chaaaaaaan!"

And with that, Mioda pranced back outside. Togami was apparently not too far away, or maybe he just groaned very loudly - either way, his reaction was audible. The photographer stuffed her head into her pillows in an attempt to block out the one-sided argument, trying to figure out whether or not she should call the girl back inside. On the one hand, the guitarist was nothing short of irritating, so very loud when all she wanted was peace and quiet – but on the other, she wasn't sensing Mioda's thoughts as she'd sensed Tsumiki's, and for someone who didn't want to believe this nonsense in the first place, that was a welcome relief. The guitarist, as irrational as she was, had somehow managed to ground Koizumi's own logic just by showing up – the whole sensing thoughts thing was now, beyond a doubt, some sort of delusion. Maybe it was something in whatever medications she'd been given, or maybe it was just some twisted way of coping with her injury; but at least it was all over now, as she couldn't read anyone's mind.

_Thank goodness_, she thought, but there was something almost sad in it. Mind-reading could have been useful, could have actually saved people on the island, potential murders anticipated and dealt with. It was good to know that she wasn't going crazy or becoming utterly delusional, but - well, she almost wanted to believe that it was real, if only because that ability could really have helped things-

"Hey, Mahiru–chan!"

And Koizumi got no further with such thinking, since Mioda chose that moment to come bouncing back into view, hopping from to foot in the doorway. It was the sort of thing she did right before she lunged at someone for a tackle-hug, but luckily it wasn't going to happen today - due to the many medical machines cluttering the room, the mattress Koizumi was on was difficult to get at, even for someone as headstrong as the guitarist. For now, Mioda had to stay by the door, calling out varied greetings until at last the photographer managed to get up enough strength to answer. "Hello to you, too."

Her smile was weak, but the guitarist had enough energy to cover both of them - Koizumi got an enthusiastic wave in response, and a grin that could have powered several cities. "Whoaaa, first contact! It speaks!" A giggle, then a tilt of her head as though she was some lost puppy, her expression going distinctly worried. "But, um – What cake does Mahiru-chan want for the party, huh? Chocolate? Maybe with strawberries-? Ibuki'd ask Teruteru–chaaan for cream, too, but we all know how he is – unfortunately, there will be no cream at Mahiru–chan's _'Yay, No–one's Dead'_ party! Cream's banned! And no buns in the oven, or even any apple pie! Banana bread might be okay, though–"

"She needs _rest_, n–not a party!" Tsumiki whined, trying to shoo the overenthusiastic guitarist away from the door so she could get in herself. This had mixed results, since Mioda allowed the nurse into the room, but skipped straight back into the doorway as soon as the nurse's back was turned, bouncing on the spot with impatience and muttering darkly to herself. Not that Koizumi paid much attention, automatically bracing for a long series of worried thoughts. As fake and delusional as whatever she'd felt earlier had been, the memory was still there, harsh enough for her to shrink back in anticipation of the awful, awful monologue.

But she received none, and soon relaxed, her only real ordeal now in trying not to listen to Mioda's chatter. "C'moooon, Mikan–chan!" she said, raising her voice. "Parties are super–duper–important and totally exciting to talk about! And talking's totes a form of therapy, right? So, talking about parties is like, the best therapy ever!"

And much to Koizumi's surprise, Tsumiki actually looked like she was _considering _this idea. "W–well, I suppose–" she began, but the photographer was quick to cut her off:

"_Uh. _Mioda – I'm really not feeling well right now. We can figure out this whole party thing later, okay?"

The musician went very quiet at that, and quite suddenly Koizumi was in the middle of what felt like a staring contest. It didn't last long - a few seconds at most - but Mioda's gaze was intense enough that it felt far longer, and she squirmed uncomfortably, blinked and looked away. She would have questioned it, asked Mioda what she was doing, but then the guitarist was gone, racing off with a trilled "Whatever super–special–important–patient–Mahiru–chan says!".

Koizumi stared at the now-very-much-empty-doorway, and maybe she would have thought about what the staring contest might have meant, but then she was distracted by Tsumiki's behaviour, which was somehow even stranger than those few seconds with the guitarist. The nurse marched over to the door, and closed it with far too much force. She went about her tasks silently, in a manner stiff and almost robotic, glancing occasionally at her patient – which could be typical Tsumiki behaviour, but she'd been been absolutely fussing over the photographer yesterday.

_Did something happen between then and now?_

Had she somehow managed to offend Tsumiki? Koizumi was pretty she hadn't, but then again, she _had _been delusional on the last occasion she'd woken up. It was entirely possible that she'd insulted the nurse without meaning to, or maybe she'd frightened her by saying something about the whole mind-reading thing. "Is something wrong?" she asked, after a few awkward minutes. There was no reply, so figuring she hadn't been heard, she waited until Tsumiki was strapping some kind of sleeve to her patient's arm, a tight-fitting thing that was connected to a machine by a long cord - that was when she raised her voice, and tried again. "Hey, you look like there's something wrong. Was it something I said?"

At that, the nurse sprang backwards, tripped over the beeping machine, and ended up flat on her back. "Aside from being an awful, awful person, there's nothing wrong with me!" she wailed, trying to get up and managing to pull the same machine on top of herself. Her patient winced as her own arm was tugged at thanks to the cord, but there wasn't much she could do about it. "That's you! B-because, um... You have a second–degree–burn, and-"

"You know that's not what that I mean!" Koizumi snapped, cutting her off before she could start explaining all the things that were wrong and make her feel that much worse. She regretted it almost immediately - Tsumiki leaped to her feet, just so she could cower, hardly daring to look her patient in the eye. The rest of the photographer's rant withered in her throat, and she shook her head. "I'm sorry."

That got her a hopeful look. "O-oh... Do you really mean that? Because, um - you really... d-don't have... to..." And with that, the nurse stopped altogether, staring emptily at her_. _There wasn't any intensity in that stare - hell, there wasn't even any emotion, no pleading or tears or aggression. Frowning, the photographer made some effort to sit up, went to ask if she was all right - but then Tsumiki was pale as a sheet, she was trembling from head to toe, and the question died as quickly as the impulse had come. There was no way that the nurse could possibly be _all right _-she looked positively _awful,_ and so the photographer eased herself up on her pillows, watching the other girl with a distinct sense of unease.

There was definitely something going on here, and something she felt the book might have mentioned earlier - but no. That the book had any truth in it was something she stoutly refused to believe, though as the staring continued, she found her resolve buckling. After all, Tsumiki really didn't seem to be herself, and definitely not now that she was just standing here, and oh, the nurse was so _worried_, a feeling of anxiety that left prickling at Koizumi's neck, and a feeling that was soon trying to justify itself with words, thoughts, and _oh no no nonononono. _But there they were, the monologue was back, and soft and slow it crawled, murmuring little things such as '_Where am I?' _and '_What's going on again?'._

_You're kidding me. You're just… joking around, Tsumiki. Aren't you? Th–this has got to be some sort of prank. Did Souda hook up some kind of stealth speaker, and you're just playing along with it? He… it must be a joke… please…?_

But Tsumiki's thoughts only continued on their confused way, louder and faster with every moment, more confused and nervous. Koizumi didn't want to believe it, but _here it was_, right in front of her, and it was difficult to ignore. She was, once again, reading someone's mind. Her own thoughts raced alongside the nurse's, desperately looking for some kind of cause, going over and over the whole sorry scenario. However, the only explanation was ridiculous, it was straight from the book, she couldn't and wouldn't believe it - and yet, the idea that as the mind-reader, she'd just un-brainwashed someone felt far, far too plausible. With it came a terrible, terrible fear - if this was true, then someone must have brainwashed the nurse beforehand, some evil mastermind lurking in the shadows on this awful island. Koizumi could imagine their plan - once they had gotten everyone under their control, they only had to off someone, and force the others to vote for the wrong person.

_And who better to murder than the one person who might be able to stop them? Me... I'm going to end up the target if they find out what I am-!_

Thankfully, before such a fantasy could go any further, Tsumiki shuddered and buried her face in trembling hands. "Ah... I don't remember what I was... I–I was slacking off, wasn't I? I'm so s-sorry!" And though her thoughts were jumbled, from what Koizumi could make of them, she wasn't lying. If she had been, she would have thought about how untrue her words were, and presumably worried about that. But no, Tsumiki had no idea what had happened sometime in between getting the day's breakfast and coming here, and she was so sorry for not knowing, _please don't hate me, unless you really want to, I won't stop you, I can't stop you, or do anything really-_

The photographer rubbed at her temples, concentrating as best as she could on the real world. If she was to retain her sanity, she needed to push the constant monologuing to one side, and the sooner she tried, the better. So, she smiled, though it was definitely not genuine, and tried to distract herself by replying to the nurse's whimpering. "You were doing a fine job, okay? You're just tired." She felt guilty for saying it, but at the same time telling Tsumiki what she thought had happened would make her sound mad at best, and at worst the information would go straight to the brainwasher if they caught the nurse again.

There was no reply, though, which only made the photographer feel worse. All that kept her from correcting herself was Tsumiki's monologue, as much as she didn't want to focus on it. Right now, her carer was certain that no–one could be so forgiving – wait, was she insulting her patient? She probably was - _oh no, I bet she hates me now, she probably thinks my silence's so rude, I should say something, uh, um_, and on and on it went. With shaking hands, she propped the photographer up into a sitting position (with pillows, to avoid an incident like last time, _hope she doesn't hate me for that one time_), and began to unwrap the bandages. They were cleaner this time, and the photographer looked on with some interest, wondering if perhaps the damage wasn't as horrible as she thought it to be yesterday.

Still, the process was painful, the fabric stinging as it shifted and rubbed against Koizumi's skin. She didn't want to set off Tsumiki's worrying any more, but she still winced a little as the bandages closer to her injury came off, and when the time came for her to view the damage, she had to steel herself, setting her jaw against the pain of the final wrapping coming off. "It's really not th–that bad! See?", the nurse stammered, and Koizumi didn't need the mental commentary to know that it really _was_ that bad. Not that she really looked at the injury much, since it was pretty disgusting from the outset and the nurse was quick to start covering it up – but there was rather a lot of red, raw skin, all with that glossy, almost wet look that the photographer knew from sunburns.

"You won't die! Second-degree, so a scar at most! A–and it's healing so fast... I–if we get out, y–you could have it tattooed over! Although, I guess only bad girls w-would do that - not that you're bad or anything, don't hate me for saying that!" Tsumiki was babbling, wrapping fresh bandages over the burn, her sound high enough to distract from the pain of tender skin brushing against the fabric. It would probably have worked a whole lot better if her patient hadn't been bombarded with an encyclopedia-like knowledge of everything about burns, how many months it'd before Koizumi could so much as walk, and so on, all focusing her straight back on the subject of how much her injury _hurt_. Still, closing her eyes wasn't an option - it'd make it look as though she was in agony, which would only set Tsumiki off further - so, she gritted her teeth and bore with a very forced smile, hastily thinking up a question to try and shift the girl's thoughts to another topic.

"So, uh. How was breakfast?"

It was a terrible question, she knew that as soon as it was out of her mouth. Sixteen thoughts shot past before the nurse managed to answer, and all of them were frightened. "Yes! I mean – no? Wh–whatever y–you want… L–like, if you're bitter about not having breakfast, then I should say it was bad! But if you w–wanted me to have a good breakfast, I should-! N–no, this is too manipulative, I didn't mean to say..."

Of course, there were _another_ sixteen worries by the time she'd finished saying all this, stepping away from the bandages to inspect her work, and it was all Koizumi could to not to roll over and bury her face in the mattress in an attempt to get the girl out of her head. This was starting to irk her, starting to chew on her sanity; she had no idea how long she could last under a veritable barrage of thoughts. "It's all right!" she replied, resting back on her pillows as best she could. "The question's about you, not me – so, it doesn't matter what I think."

"I–I–!" Tsumiki stammered, then stopped, her head hanging and mind full of worry, worry, _worry_. As much as Koizumi wanted to say something to try and calm her fears, she had yet to think of a tactful way of doing it, some way that wouldn't let the other girl know about the mind-reading.

Yes, there was some danger in doing so, but the main issue right now was that Koizumi didn't quite believe any of it herself - especially since there was still a chance that she was just imagining things. First the book, then listening in on the nurse's monologue, and now some sort of contrived enemy in a 'brainwasher' – it all seemed so surreal, so ridiculous. She didn't want to be considered insane by the rest, so for now she pushed away what evidence lay before her. She did have a burn that matched the idea of getting hit with a fireball, but maybe it _wasn't _the book that did it; it wasn't like she'd ever seen the impact. Yes, she heard a little extra voice in her head every time Tsumiki decided that the silence was worth another worry, but that could just be a delusion – no, _had_ to be. She was high on pain medications, that was all it was, and it'd all be over soon. Opting not to make a fool of herself just yet, she offered the nurse an encouraging smile.

"You what?"

The nurse glanced up at her as she held out the pills in one hand, reached for the glass of water beside the mattress, and there was a flash of suspicion - quickly buried beneath thoroughly negative thoughts, but _there_ nonetheless, an ugly, sharp thing that hurt as though she'd ever said it. The photographer just bit back a furious "Of _course _you can trust me not to mind!"; that would have either betrayed her ability or doomed her to a life of being thought mad, depending on whether or not this was real. Instead, she took the tablets, tried not to pull _too_ many faces at the metallic, bitter taste they left in her mouth, and waited patiently for Tsumiki to summon up enough courage to try again.

For a while it seemed that no response would be forthcoming. Minutes ticked by, and the nurse just knelt at the side of the mattress, shaking and trembling, her mind trying to address every possible way she could irritate the photographer with her eventual response. Her thoughts only became more panicked as Koizumi grew more tired - her patient been pretty weak to start off with, and the tablets must have been of the drowsy variety, were definitely starting to take their toll. Tsumiki so desperately wanted her patient to hear her response, but she needed just a little more time before she could give it. Time wasn't on their side, though - the photographer could feel herself leaning more heavily into the pillow, her mind starting to slip away.

"I... I had a– a very nice b–breakfast?" Tsumiki tried at long last, watching Koizumi intently, and the other girl almost closed her eyes against the barrage of thoughts she got - the nurse was desperately looking for a sign that she'd got her answer right, any sign at all. Sleepy as she was, there was just no resisting a temptation like that. The nurse wanted her approval - no, _craved_ her approval - and in knowing this, her patient felt obliged to give it, a pressure and a commitment that just managed to fight the drugs, make her say something.

"That's it", she said, giving a thumbs up, and there was very suddenly a large, congratulatory party going on in the nurse's mind that correlated with the hint of a smile the photographer received. And though she was close to asleep, and though she was asleep seconds later, Koizumi managed to smile back somewhere in between - Tsumiki's inner joy was too much for her not to acknowledge.

Maybe there was some good in this ability, after all.


	4. Chapter Three: Balancing Act

_Hey, so could Kazuichi-chan maybe–_

Souda leaped to attention, his head snapping around towards her and his back going ramrod straight, and the brainwasher frowned, one finger tapping against her lip. Thankfully, the two of them were standing alone in the hotel's lobby, but she could hear the chatter of those having lunch upstairs – a constant reminder that as long as Souda's orders were this obvious, Mioda would have to be careful to either not order him about in front of the rest, or to constantly control him. She knew she could make the brainwashed forget any oddities they saw easily enough, but what if if someone stronger–willed became suspicious? Even though the musician didn't really understand how brainwashing worked, she was sure she needed more practice before she could tackle someone like that - so if they caught on early, she could be in trouble, unable to brainwash them before they could warn the rest.

"Warn them about what?" asked Souda, curious even in his dozy state, and Mioda shook her head.

_Don't go remembering that. Let's just try something else, okay? Soooo, act normal. And don't snap to attention on the next order, okay?_

"Got it", the mechanic mumbled, though it took him a few seconds to properly process the command. When it went through, it was obvious - the mechanic slouched against the games cabinet, rubbing at the back of his neck, and Mioda wondered if there was anything she could do to reduce the delay. "Mmmn… Hey, reckon Hanamura's cooking anything good for lunch? It smells kinda good."

_Now, as normally as Kazuichi–chan possibly can–_

Souda jumped, glancing at her for approval, and Mioda groaned. This was basic stuff, right here - a very basic problem, that could easily get her caught out. However, for as long as she didn't know where the book went, she was going to have to try and sort it out herself.

_So, uh. What Ibuki was gonna say was - go upstairs, get a glass of soft drink, and bring it back down here. That way, Ibuki can test out her range. That's kind of progress, ri-_

"U–um…" came a voice from right behind her, and the guitarist stopped mid–order with a whimper that came out much louder then intended. She whirled, expecting something awful, expecting herself to be caught and her whole world to come crashing down – but there was only Tsumiki, wringing her hands nervously. "A–are you two o–okay?" she stammered, and Mioda smiled - of everyone who could have possibly ended up seeing this scene, it was the one other person that she had under her control. This wasn't a challenge; this was as easy as telling the nurse to _forget it_, and so she did.

But Tsumiki didn't so much as blink, let alone forget it. "Y–you were just... standing there, n–not saying anything–!" she went on. "A–and, um... W–wait, are you doing it now?"

_Forget all about that_,_ Mikan–chaaaaan,_ the guitarist snarled, and a second time there was no acknowledgement, no obedience. The nurse just carried on talking, stepping towards them as she fumbled through the pockets of her apron.

"M–m–maybe it's an iron deficiency... I–I think I have tablets somewhere, just let me–!"

Mioda felt her smile falter slightly, but was quick to recover. Whatever had happened - probably just a range thing - could be fixed. "Oooh, is that a bad thing? It sure _sounds_ bad! Like, heavy-metal bad!" And chirping away, she skipped straight over to the nurse, who had been obeying her every whim since breakfast this morning. No matter how many times Mioda silently told her not to move, the other girl cringed back at her approach, moving towards the wall; she was quite clearly no longer brainwashed, and it wasn't like the guitarist had much time to think about the why. Her hearing was good - she could hear movement from upstairs, the creak of the top step. If she didn't brainwash Tsumiki right now, the nurse would surely raise suspicion in front of the others, and Mioda didn't need or want anyone to be suspicious right now.

"W–what are you d–d–doi…?" the nurse began, her gaze firmly focused on the floor. Impatient with the girl, and knowing full well that she was running out of time, the guitarist grabbed her chin and forced it upwards, pushing Tsumiki back against the door frame. It was a risky move, but if it got the nurse looking at Mioda, it was all good, and she backed off as soon as their gazes had locked properly. The other girl continued to stare, and so long as she stayed within line of sight, the guitarist could put a little distance between herself and Tsumiki, make it look a little less awkward. It was by no means perfect, but-

_Thump, thump, thump._

Someone was coming down the stairs, someone who didn't need to see her little brainwashing act. Her heart missed a beat, and she thought fast. There was no way she could pull this off with someone coming – wait, no, no, there _was_. It was a difficult move, but she was desperate, and multitasking was something of a needed skill in the high–energy music business; Mioda was sure it could be done. And so, as she stared the nurse down from across the room, the guitarist reached out towards Souda, ordering him up the stairs towards Whoever It Was.

_Okay, Kazuichi – chan. He's gotta talk to Thingy–chan – keep them occupied. Use their name as soon as you recognize–_

"Hey, Hinata!" she heard the mechanic call out from his position on the fifth stair up, and the footfalls stopped for now. As much as she didn't like the thought, Mioda had to leave the mechanic with his half–finished orders, focus all her energy on the nurse – the more she focused, the faster she would fall under her control. Souda wasn't good at ad–libbing, and if she made him crack decent jokes, Hinata would be sure to notice something. Unfortunately, his regular jokes were bad enough that her target was tiring quickly, trying to make an excuse and leave - all in all, time wasn't something that was on Mioda's side. She needed to get control of Tsumiki, and fast.

_Thump. Thump. Thump._

The brainwasher wasn't sure what was louder at this point - the pounding of her heart or the dull footfalls as Hinata started moving down the stairs again, Souda desperately trailing along behind and trying to slow him down -_"Hey, have you heard the one about the camel on the road? No? I know this great one about a chicken, then."_ Mioda was about to be found out, and for a split second, she was angry, wanting to blame someone, anyone. The thought of a mind-reader flickered through her thoughts, but it was deemed too ridiculous - and with an effort, she forced her furious energy into the brainwashing, willing Tsumiki to go under _or else.__  
_

It worked, for better or worse. The nurse let out something like a whimper as her mind at last drifted, and the guitarist was able to look away so as to avoid any suspicion from the boys. _Act normal, but don't remember anything about the brainwashing_, she thought in Tsumiki's general direction. If they'd been alone, she might have apologized for crushing her mind with something so angry like that, she hoped that hadn't hurt the girl - but then Hinata was in view, standing at the foot of the stairs with Souda trying to drag him back up them. In fact, the mechanic had one arm around his shoulders in a manner that wasn't entirely friendly, more something tense and vaguely threatening-

_Stop, _came the sharp order, and the mechanic indeed stopped before he could go and put Hinata in a headlock, even though he did so with a mutinous mumble. The other boy let out a sigh of relief, nodded to the musician in greeting, and went to leave, remain oblivious - but then he saw Tsumiki, and frowned. The nurse dutifully shrank back, all shaking and worry, but for some reason that only made Hinata's frown deepen. He continued to study her for a long moment, a tense silence, and all Mioda could do was (a) pray that the acts of the brainwashed were holding up, and (b) make sure she didn't send any more orders to Souda. Tsumiki would obey her without all the jolting, so long as she was careful - it was the mechanic who was more of an issue.

"Wh–what?" Tsumiki spat when the guitarist couldn't take the quiet any longer, and the boy shrugged in reply.

"I... thought you were tending to Koizumi, I guess? Not that I'm saying you're slacking or anything, but–"

"-but, but, buuuut Hajime–chan just said it, right there!" Mioda pointed out. Tsumiki burst into crocodile tears, sniffling and whimpering and sobbing when the guitarist pushed her a little further, and Souda grinned and prowled up behind Hinata, smacking the stunned boy across the shoulders.

"There goes another chance at a girl, huh?"

"What th– hey! You _know_ I'm not into..." He trailed off, realizing his mistake too late, and Mioda made sure Tsumiki exploited it.

"Uwaaaaaah! Y–you hate me, too?! Y-you don't even know me or a-anything... I-I can be nice, don't hate me..."

"That's not what I meant-!" He was flustered, he was confused, he was unsettled, and the guitarist had begun to see an opportunity, one that she wasn't about to lose. The name of the game was no longer 'pretending that everything's okay so he'll go away', as stupid a name as that was - the much cooler name was now 'Seducing Hinata So I Can Brainwash Him Easier', which even came with neat capital letters.

"Ooh! Hajime–chan had better apologize!" Mioda said, and took the opportunity to come closer, brushing up against him. She grabbed his hand, pressed it into Tsumiki's palm, noting the sudden redness on his cheeks - that, right there, was her opening, and the plan solidified. "Unless Hajime-chan really likes _someone else_, mmmm? Like, if someone's got his heart, he really shouldn't go cheating or anything." she hissed, and Hinata yelped in surprise. He hastily pulled his hand away from the nurse's, grabbing both of Mioda's before he realized what he was doing. She didn't pull away, just glanced up so that their eyes met, so that he'd go even redder.

"No! I mean, yes! I mean, uh – sorry, Tsumiki–?"

The guitarist giggled, gently prying his hands away whilst the nurse pretended that everything was just fine. Maybe that was out-of-character, but given how focused her target was on the guitarist, she doubted he was about to notice. The plan crept forwards in her head, and she even came up with a quick couple of reasons why Hinata would make such a good addition to the group, as though she'd plotted it all out well beforehand - he was calm–minded, charismatic, and not on terrible terms with anyone. Still - with the others upstairs, she couldn't risk a brainwashing here and now; she needed to lure him away. "Soooo, now Hajime-chan's totally confessed his red-hot passion for this musician - how about a party? Just a little one, drinks on the beach, maybe a game or ten - they'll have to be soft drinks, but Ibuki's sure Hajime–chan won't mind that little detail, right?"

_Get excited, Kazuichi-chan!,_ she added, and the mechanic started jumping up and down, briefly strumming an air guitar before Mioda put a stop to that possible attempt to reveal her. She'd had more than enough of his nearly getting her rustled for today, and she was so very, very close to getting Hinata on her side now. As soon as they were separated from the rest, alone on the beach, with her two trustworthy brainwashed standing watch-

"Woo-hoo! Foursome, here I come!"

And just like that, Souda had gone and blown the whole thing, or at least Hinata gave him a funny look. The brainwasher's heart just about stopped. Had the guy finally realized what was going on? Would he now refuse the bait he'd been so close to taking? She thought hard at Souda, carefully controlling his every motion, determined not to allow him to ruin everything. There was a slight stiffening, but the fact that he was already mid-jumping masked it. The mechanic landed completely under her will, tilted his head, and said exactly what the guitarist told him to. "Not that I'd be coming, anyway. I've got a princess to go after, y'know!"

"A-and I'm really sorry, but I can't do it either. Because, um - I have to look after Koizumi! Y-you can whip me later..."

"I'd rather not", Hinata growled, but as soon as that line was out of his mouth, Mioda was giving his hand a squeeze, distracting him from any sort of oddity about the brainwashed ones. Soon, very soon, he wouldn't notice a thing, and her life would be that much more peaceful. She smiled wider at the thought, and the guy blushed even more, though presumably for all the wrong reasons. "C'mon, Hajime–chan! It's gonna be so exciting! Ibuki wouldn't want to miss it for all the world, 'mmmm?"

And with a tight grip on his hand, she dragged him out the door before he could object.

* * *

"Koizumi! Koizumi! Wake up! It is time for your regular exercises!"

The photographer blinked awake - then instantly wished she hadn't, since Nidai was standing over her, staring her right in the eye. His rambunctious enthusiasm came crashing into her head, and she groaned, rolling onto her front and closing her eyes to attempt to block it out. As fictional and unbelievable as the ability was, the volume _felt _real enough for her to try and avoid it, and she didn't like that part of the whole awful fantasy at all. "Leave me alone!" she mumbled into the mattress, pulling the covers over herself as best she could - but the coach wasn't about to give up, and they both knew it.

"No, I will not – _Koizumi!" _Here, the blanket was tugged - not by much, but enough that it shifted, allowing the light and cool air to hit her in the head once more. The photographer tried to claw it back up, with little success - fighting against Nidai in any scenario was a battle lost, even without her injury taken into account. "It is very important to keep your muscles loose after an injury!"

"Is it now?" the photographer growled, sleepy from the medication, her whole body aching, and overall not wishing to know what the coach had in mind – figuratively or literally.

"Yes!" came the affirmation, and this time the covers were completely thrown off. "I will begin with stretches, to determine the severity of your injury", he continued, and she felt him take her by the shoulders. Fighting was again, not an option - so Koizumi allowed the sports manager to roll her over, sitting her up against her pillows. She didn't open her eyes straight away, since she guessed that he'd take it as a signal to begin trying to make her stretch. Not that she felt it was about to keep him away for long, that and she almost wanted to get the whole ordeal over with - a few seconds was all she took, before she peered up at him.

An incredible energy slammed into her consciousness - Nidai wasn't just a loud thinker, he pretty much _bellowed_ everything in his head, and it was hard to adjust to. Even once the coach had moved behind her and had started rubbing at her exposed shoulders, she could sense his thoughts, yelling away. The only reason her head didn't start aching straight away was that the guy's mind was nothing but good things, encouragements along the lines of '_Koizumi's going to make a full recovery!' _and_ 'She can do it!' -_ comforting, in a rather shouty sort of way. Some had pictures associated with them, faded memories of previously injured athletes flashing by as the guy thought of everyone he'd helped get back into sport, and even return with an amazing winning streak. She thought she might have seen the coach himself in a hospital bed at one point, but that one was so pale and whirled by by so quickly that she couldn't be sure.

The photographer swallowed hard before she dared ask the question, considered stalling some more - but no, she needed to say it, or he'd just start doing things, and that was a vaguely terrifying idea. "What sort of stretches?" she asked, and shifted her weight forwards, trying to gently remove her shoulders from his grip – but he just leaned into the motion and carried on rubbing. That set off alarm bells, so she focused on Nidai's mind as best she could, searching for any sort of perverted thoughts. She couldn't find any, no matter how hard she concentrated, but that didn't necessarily mean that they _weren't _there. There could, after all, be something quiet hidden behind all that yelling, and the idea made her uneasy.

"First of all, I will massage your shoulders thoroughly!" the coach declared, and his grip tightened. Koizumi winced, now even more uneasy.

"Hey. Maybe we could skip–"

"OOOORAAAAAAAAH!" said Nidai.

"I'll take that as a _no_", she mumbled in the second between this announcement and his thumbs pressing hard between her shoulder–blades. What followed had to be the most painful experience she had ever suffered through, being attacked by the book aside. Koizumi's muscles where stiff and sore, and didn't react well to all the poking and prodding Nidai gave them - she had to set her jaw several times against the agony, though she still whimpered when the coach's hands brushed one particularly sore spot low on her back.

"Uh, I'm fine!" she began, hoping that he might move on - but it wasn't to be. He'd picked up on the whimper well before she could make her excuse, and much to her dismay he focused on that part of her back for a good few minutes, carefully working out the knots in a process that felt horrible.

"I am the ultimate masseur! I will not rest until every section of your back has been worked to my satisfaction, or my name isn't NEKOMARU NIDAAAAAAIIIIIIIII!"

Koizumi was careful not to make another sound after that, not wanting to be in such excruciating pain for any longer than necessary. However, the 'ultimate' in all things massaging was very diligent indeed, and a good forty-five minutes of agony crawled by before Nidai was satisfied with his workout, and left the cabin, left her exhausted, flitting in and out of sleep.

She couldn't sleep properly, however - something felt _wrong_, something that chewed on her nerves. Koizumi couldn't fathom it at first, being so very tired; she just woke, felt uneasy, then drifted off again. But several hours later, when Monobear's announcement boomed inside the cabin, the photographer's energy had recovered enough that she woke with a jolt. A quick glance about the room told her what was wrong - Tsumiki was missing - and the thought turned her growing paranoia into something like a fireball. Something bad could have happened to the one who saved her, especially given she had been under the brainwasher's power for a time.

_Maybe she's about to be made an example of... What if she's going to become-?_

That last thought was too awful to complete - Koizumi wasn't about to let Tsumiki meet such an awful fate if it could be helped. And so, she got to her feet, and steadying herself against first the bed and then the wall, started to limp out of the room.

_I'm coming! I'll help you! Just a little longer, okay?_


	5. Chapter Four: Beachwashed

The joke was lame, but Mioda giggled anyway. "C'mon, Hajime–chan!" she teased, reaching across the white beach sand to entwine his fingers with hers. "He's gotta try a _little _harder than that! Unless Ibuki's not that important to him-?"

"N–no, of course!" Hinata stammered. "I mean – you _are_ special to me, Mioda."

Another opening, and the guitarist was quick to take a shot at it, cocking her head to the side in a fashion she considered to be quite cute in its own right. "Oh? Like - Super–High–School–Level–Special?"

"I guess so", he replied, and though he followed it up with one of the most awkward laughs she'd ever heard, she went along with it, threw in another snicker. Still, it _was_ awkward, so as he aborted and went into a series of hasty coughs to try and disguise that he'd been at all laughing in the first place, Mioda took the opportunity to try and stare him down. She desperately wanted to end this charade that had been going on for hours, but Hinata wouldn't look her in the eye – just as he'd been refusing to do that all afternoon. This was starting to frustrate her, but her only showing of it came in the form of a pout and a slightly harder–than–necessary elbow in his side.

"C'mooooon, Hajime–chan!" she whined, settling herself against his shoulder. "Tell Ibuki something she _doesn't _know. Like – um, maybe a really good joke, or – a whole comedy routine? Yes, that's it! Ibuki demands a routine! With some kind of slow jam in the background, okay?"

"Forget it! I'm not gonna do that!" Hinata blurted, his face going even redder than it had already been, given the light of the setting sun. The two of them were alone on the beach together, watching the sunset. There were no clouds to sour the view, just shades of orange and pink and yellow painted across the sky. The fading light sparkled off the occasional white-capped wave, and it was dazzling enough that the musician would bury her face into Hinata side every time it happened. Thankfully, the guy didn't seem too irritated by this quirk of hers - he bore it all with incredible patience. And speaking of that, it was almost as though he was waiting for something - every time she pulled back, he'd glance her way with a look that bordered on longing. But that was all it was - just glance, nothing more, certainly not the staring match she needed to initiate for him to be put under her spell.

Two plastic cups filled with soft drink were half–buried in the sand in front of them, and occasionally Hinata would take a sip of whatever concoction he'd gotten from the island's vending machine. Ramune_, _the stuff was called, and the guitarist had of course pretended she loved it. "Hajime-chan's so _considerate_, Ibuki's breaking character to use longer words!" she'd purred when he'd finally decided on the bottles, though her foot was tapping when she said it. Not that she _hated _the stuff - she was pretty neutral on it, in all honesty - but she hadn't expected Hinata to take such a long time to procure the drink, humming and hawing and making a slow, careful case for each thing in the machine. Still, selecting an item was apparently important to him, and in the interests of not stuffing up a potential brainwashing, Mioda had let him deliberate for nearly an hour on whether or not he should get a multitude of other items as presents, sacrificing what little patience she had in the name of her mission.

Going off how flustered and stressed he'd become on the subject of what Mioda might like best for their beach party - he seemed to think it was some kind of date, and maybe, just maybe it was a date in her mind as well. After all, they were together on the beach, enjoying the sunset, holding hands. That the guitarist's thoughts were more trained on everything she was going to make him do later on was - well, maybe that made it _not_ a date, or maybe that only made it a date for Hinata. She wasn't entirely sure on that, but she could say with certainty that it wasn't a date for Souda and Tsumiki. The two brainwashed were currently pretending to be playing chess at the entrance to the beach despite the brainwasher knowing exactly none of the rules to the game, and were of course pretending that they had absolutely nothing to do with the night–vision–goggles resting in the sand behind them. Purloined from Rocketpunch, those were a safety precaution more than anything else, just in case the non-date turned into a night-time affair, and the duo were seen by some nosy person who should have known far better.

"Wait, wait, wait. _No_ routine?" she asked when her thoughts drifted back to the situation at hand, breaking the awkward silence between them. "But Hajime-chan and Ibuki can totally take turns, and–"

"Mioda, stop. No comedy routines from either of us on the first date, okay?"

"F–f–fu–_first_? Date? Meaning there'll be more than one? Meaning it's totally a date?!" She said it like she'd never guessed, even though he'd made it blatantly obvious. But Hinata was smart, and his unenthusiastic response gave her the distinct feeling that he'd realized that she was just playing with him, feigning surprise just to see how he'd react.

"No, I just... I like your company. And that's all it is."

Mioda hung her head at his words, then sighed and took a sip of her drink. "Whatever Hajime-chan says."

_But as soon as he's brainwashed, it'll be whatever Ibuki says._

Of course, as soon as he was brainwashed, it'd be whatever she said, but for now, she had to do what her classmate said just to keep him pleased, and he said nothing. Minutes passed in relative silence, and they stretched into nearly an hour's worth. Of course, in her efforts to get him to look at her for more than a moment, the musician tried to initiate conversation a few times - she'd make some gurgling noise with her drink, or offer to show Hinata the cup song when he'd finished with his. However, Hinata would just laugh, pretend he'd just coughed, and then proceed to stare emptily into the distance. All too soon, the sun had slunk well below the horizon, though it was only when Mioda took out the torch she'd grabbed from the convenience store that the guy eventually made a half–hearted effort to get up. He looked more than a little annoyed, and perhaps rightfully so. After all, he'd waited all afternoon for Mioda to make a further advance on him and she'd never actually done that, a mistake she'd only realized now.

"Hey… It's gotten kind of late, don't you think?"

Luckily, the guitarist saw the question behind the question – or at least, she saw the opportunity to make him all hers, and a new plan began to form. "It sure has! But, but - hey, there's one thing Ibuki's still gotta do before Hajime-chan leaves! Ibuki was gonna leave it fashionably late, but she doesn't think she can do it if he's gone." That was enough to get the guy's curiosity aroused; he sat back down with a smile, glancing at her before he found the beach sand oh-so-fascinating.

"What is it?" He sounded tired, but that he was asking was a good thing, a very good thing. A kind of go-ahead, really - the sort of small signal that was needed for Mioda to put her ridiculous plot into action.

"Only one way to find out!"

And then, without hesitation, the guitarist leaned hard into him. That Hinata ended up flat on his back was definitely not part of the plan - she'd only meant to push him off-balance a little - but she went on with it regardless. She had seconds to act before he could decide she was attempting to murder him, so she completely ignored his noise of surprise, instead leaning over to brushing her lips against his. It wasn't _really_ a kiss, but combined with the way her hands settled on Hinata's shoulders and the way she lingered in that position, it was enough for what she intended, an obvious and unexpected display of affection that ought to have left him stunned. In fact, she pulled back to enjoy the look of shock on the poor guy's face, and was rewarded in spades. Hinata had no idea what the heck had just happened, and so he lay there in front of her, his eyes wide and mouth hanging open. Caught completely off guard, his thoughts racing and panicked, he didn't have a snowflake's chance in hell of avoiding Mioda's gaze, as he had done so many times earlier - he just stared right back, and as he did so, she focused. His expression was utterly priceless, and she almost wished she had a camera with her. What a pity he was going to have to forget all about this moment, or the brainwasher would have teased him mercilessly about it for sure.

"That's right, Hajime–chan", she purred, quietly putting the torch back into her pocket. "It's not so hard to look at Ibuki now, is it?"

"N–no, it isn't…" he mumbled, gazing back, and slowly, slowly, his mind began to slip away into sleep. The guitarist felt pride swelling deep in her chest, because she'd really achieved something, with no help at all from the book. He was strong, but Mioda had finally found a way of bringing him down - she'd tired him out, caught him unaware, and then shoved his hormones and emotions straight in the way of any fight he might have otherwise put up. As it was, he was brainwashed in all of ten seconds. She smiled as he slowly reached up, tried to kiss her back in his last moments of control. Of course, Mioda gently forced him away, but he was stubborn - in those final seconds, his hand brushed against her cheek, before trailing slowly down her neck to rest on the sand.

_Sorry, buuuuut he should forget all about this!_

"Do I _have_ to?" Hinata asked, and Mioda winced. He wasn't exactly going _against _her orders, but she'd never had someone so openly question her before. She rolled off him in some confusion, her brow furrowing for a few seconds.

_Yeah? Like, Ibuki just told Hajime–chan to do it. Soooo–_

"GRRRROOOOAAAAAAAARRRRRRR", said a Monobeast somewhere in the distance, distracting the guitarist enough that she forgot all about the guy she was supposed to be brainwashing for a few seconds. She got up, looking about herself for the source of the noise, but of course, as it was dark and the creature was probably a good distance away, there was no way of knowing where it was or how fast it could move. Worried orders were sent to Souda and Tsumiki, quick, flustered things, telling them to find whoever was causing the ruckus and stop them before the noise had everyone on the island wide awake. If they found her and Hinata alone on the beach, she wasn't entirely sure how she was about to explain it. Could she really pretend that they were some happy couple, knowing how the relationship really was? Mioda wasn't the best at lying, and Hinata seemed to be playing up a little; he could easily blow the act even if she played her role perfectly.

Speaking of which, her non-boyfriend yawned. His mind was drowsy, but somehow functioned enough for him to speak on his own beyond dumb echoing, a fact that really worried the musician. "So... I guess I've got to do what you say now, right? Including pandering to whatever kinks?"

_First off, forget about the brainwashing! And second - he absolutely has to do what Ibuki says, so he'll stop dropping pickup lines out of a R–rated film from now on!_

Of course, he went to make some smart–alec response, but Mioda had had enough - the moment he opened his great stupid mouth, she'd turned, and was staring him into complete submission. A struggle ensued, and there was rather a lot of protesting at the loss of his independence, that and the threat that if she took her eyes off him for even a moment, he'd say something that definitely wasn't in the script. But overall – and this was why the brainwasher felt she won that battle for dominance - it wasn't like a few words were about to stop her in her tracks. And a few words was the best he was ever going to manage, too; smart-alec or not, he still had to do what she said, and that included shutting up whenever she told him to do so. He was going to be _useful_ to her, not a liability. Though he couldn't be trusted on his own until she'd found some way to put an end to the constant fighting back, he could still help her draw the others away from the main group in the meantime - and speaking of the others, it might be best to check in or her guards. The last she'd checked in, there was a rather cross Monobeast running loose on the island, and she'd sent Souda and Tsumiki running in its general direction.

Not her _best_ idea.

_All right, Hajime–chan! Ibuki might have made a teeny, tiny mistake out there. Um, let's go and see if Kazuichi–chan and Mikan–chan are–_

"Wh–wh–wh–wh–whAAAAAAT THE HEEEEEEELL?"

"AIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

With those screams, Mioda had a funny feeling that maybe her two beachguards _weren't_ all right. Scrambling to her feet, she led Hajime across the beach in a wild, albeit very guilty, charge, holding his hand with one that just wouldn't stop shaking, willing her two guards to run from whatever terror was after them. In a truly unromantic end to the date-not-date, the duo staggered to a halt at the entrance to the beach, the guitarist fumbling in her pocket for the torch before just about dragging Hinata down the main path as the screams started up again. If she'd just managed to get her friends killed - no, no, _no, _that wasn't right, that wasn't going to happen.

_Everything's going to be all right-!_

"Yeah, of course!" Hinata agreed wholeheartedly, and even if it was only because he was well and truly brainwashed, it spurred Mioda on anyway. Everything _was _going to be just fine, no matter how many people were screaming now. She was going to take out the thing that was attacking them, somehow, and they would be grateful, and it would all be okay. She ignored the way the underbrush had been trampled and the sheer panic in those wails in favour of this theory - in the fine tradition of many a stupid action hero, Ibuki Mioda was well and truly determined that everyone was going to be okay.

A pity, then, that this wasn't a action series.


	6. Chapter Five: Let's Play Tag

"Great. Just... great."

She hadn't been in the best of conditions to be walking in the first place, and now she was wandering around in the dark, which to Koizumi meant even more dragging herself about - it was difficult to take shortcuts when she couldn't see much, after all. Saying that the bandages about her middle were 'restrictive' would have been a strong contender for Understatement of the Year, and the drowsy effects of the tablets she'd taken the day before still lingered; she could barely walk, let alone in a straight line. To top it all off, her burn didn't like the natural jostling and rubbing that came with her attempts at moving forwards, so her steps weren't just slow, but very painful, and even if she _did_ somehow find Tsumiki, the red–head was sure she'd have been more told off than rewarded.

This, in shorter terms, had been a fantastically stupid idea from start to finish, and the only reasons she was still going on were that (a) she was at this point utterly lost, and had no hope of getting back _unless_ she found someone out here, and (b) the pain-killers were likely going to her head. She hadn't been lost at first, blundering about the cabins. But then, with her head still filled with fantasies and fears concerning Tsumiki of equal strengths, she'd crossed the bridge to the main island. That wouldn't normally be a problem, but maybe her adrenaline ran out or maybe she'd come to her senses and wondered just what she was doing out here - either way, the world had spun somewhere in the middle of the bridge, and everything had gone to hell in a handbasket. Koizumi knew that the sea was her best hope of getting back on the path - but she'd realized that far too late, when the sound of the waves was faint, and she had ended up well off the path, stumbling through the brush. As it were, the photographer was hopelessly lost, with no visible landmarks.

_Although…. What about–?_

A new idea slunk to the surface, and she turned in a slow circle, hoping to see what she'd always dreaded seeing ever since Monobear had appeared. Luck was apparently on her side, for she caught sight of two small, bright red lights, off in the distance. If those they were what she hoped they were - the eyes of one of the enormous beasts guarding all bar one of the place's various bridges - they would lead her back to the path. That was important, since if she kept walking along this path, the photographer would circle the hub-island, and so no matter how far from the bridge she was, she'd be able to find her way back.

And so, she took a step. Two. Thr–

_Rrrrrrrrrrrrrr._

Koizumi froze on the spot, peering into the darkness. How close was she to whichever Monobeast it was? It was presumably still crouched at the entrance to a bridge, right next to the path, but she definitely wasn't on that path; grass still rustled and crunched under her feet. All things considered, she reasoned, the thing shouldn't have growled - she surely wasn't close enough to be growled at, and it wasn't like the creature had ever growled at her before. It probably knew she was trying to use it as a landmark, but that didn't give it any reason to be making such a noise, and in Koizumi's mind, robots just didn't do things without reasons. No, no; someone else must have been messing about near it, doing something _dangerous_ \- and going off the ferocity of the sound, they were now in even more trouble than they had been before.

So, in part wanting to get back on the path and in a much larger part hoping to stop Whoever It Was from getting themselves killed, Koizumi moved forwards once again. Those were tense minutes, while the thing over there was snarling away and she was approaching, praying with her every step. She was shaking so badly that she nearly fell over at one point, and her whole body burned from fatigue, but she had no choice but to keep moving whilst she could. Once, the Monobeast shifted its position with a series of loud creaks and whirs, and she jumped back with a short, shrill noise. But regardless of what she felt like doing, which in this case was dropping dead, the photographer _had_ to find the path, if not try her best to keep her classmate from being annihilated. It might even be that she was the only person who could do something about this, and the thought spurred her onwards, putting her head down so she wouldn't have to look at the lights in the thing's eyes as she continued on her way.

And yet in hindsight, those tense minutes were relatively peaceful compared to what came after them. It was only when something bumped into her lower torso that all hell really broke loose, though as with most hellish storms, it all began with an eerie, growl-free quiet. The something she'd walked straight into was a hard, blunt object, cold metal against her bandages - a something that was, as of a moment after the collision, growling loud enough that it was actually trembling with the sound.

A soft, red glow flickered on either side of this very mysterious item, highlighting the gravity of Koizumi's mistake. She had exactly two seconds to realize that yes, the Monobeast had been standing out in the grasslands the whole time - and yes, she _was _the problem it had identified, a student out of bed and wandering well after curfew, and in fact it had been attempting to stalk her - and then the thing lunged for its prey. This could have been a lot worse, but the positioning was completely off; as its head was already in her chest area, the attack sent the girl flying. Not far, but it gave just enough time for her to get up and run for her life. The beast crashed after her, screaming a challenge at the top of its lungs.

"GRRRROOOOAAAAAAAARRRRRRR!"

Up ahead, the photographer could hear voices, panicked and high, something about stopping whoever was causing the noise. With no goal beyond something like_ 'get help!'_ wailing in her head, she ran straight in their general direction, stumbling and sobbing, her injury throbbing and breathing coming in short gasps. Of course, she knew that it was useless, and in fact the creature behind her really should have pounced by now. Thankfully, it was slow in the somewhat-more-difficult terrain of the grassland – a fact only emphasized when it managed to trip up and go down with a noise loud enough to make the ground tremble. It cut loose with a snarl, shredding the grass as it tried to get up, and its prey made a very interesting noise indeed.

"H–hey! Whaddaya think you're doing?!" someone yelled, and Koizumi looked up far too late, realizing both she and her pursuer were heading out of the brush and coming for none less than Souda and Tsumiki, visible by the light of the torch in the mechanic's hand. Both of them had moved to block the path leading down to the beach; a possible escape route, cut off by two of the least-stubborn students on the island. Both of them were wearing some sort of strange headgear, too, but there was no worrying over such things, let alone trying to argue the pair out of stopping her from getting to the ocean - the photographer had a veritable beast chasing her down, and she needed to _move._ She made a sharp turn left in front of the two of them, sprinted down the path - but much to her surprise, they both started running after her.

"H-hey! Wh-wh-what do you think you're doing out here? You're injured! You had better get to bed!"

"Yeah, what she said! Whatever that was!"

Koizumi carried right on sprinting down the path, and for some reason unknown the two continued to follow, yelling all the while. It was ridiculous, in a terrifying sort of way - there she was, on the run from a thing that presumably wanted to kill her, and these two self-proclaimed cowards were chasing her, calling after her to stop making such a noise, that she had better get to bed _right now_, and definitely not go anywhere near the beach while she was doing that, and if she didn't, Bad Things Would Definitely Happe–

"Wh–wh–wh–wh–whAAAAAAT THE HEEEEEEELL?!"

"AIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

**_WHAM!_**

Going off that enlightening dialogue, they'd just noticed the very loud, very conspicuous Monobeast coming after Koizumi, and they were running from that instead - which just so happened to involve running in the same direction the photographer was already going in. The mechanic dropped his torch almost straight away, and half-blinded, the creature didn't make the turn left onto the slippery gravel of the path, taking out what sounded like several small trees. Of course, it soon recovered and came rushing after them, and chaos reigned supreme – it was pitch black, and Souda was screeching and Tsumiki was whimpering and Koizumi was half–laughing and half sobbing at the stupidity of it all and probably wondering how on earth she was managing to keep up with the two uninjured. It probably had something to do with the fact that they were all equally panicked. They were running and running and praying that the thing wouldn't catch up, but on the path, its way wasn't hampered by trees and brush, leaving it free to go into a headlong charge straight for them.

"We're not gonna to outrun that thing!" Souda wailed, his voice just barely audible over the noise of three people and one enormous robot running on gravel. "It's been _built _to take us out, come on–!"

"Just keep running!" Koizumi panted. "W–we'll figure something out–!"

"You sure? Because right now, the only thing we're gonna be figuring out is what sort of lettering we should put on the menu! We've been served already! Grilled! Fried! Sautéed!"

At that, Koizumi gritted her teeth, then grabbed Souda with one hand, Tsumiki with the other, and veered off the path quite suddenly. There was a spray of rocks behind them as - someone up above must have smiled on them - the Monobeast once more lost its footing on the turn. Furious, it cut loose with a guttural roar, and was answered by a screech of terror from one of the two people Koizumi was dragging along. Maybe it was from both of them - it was loud enough to have the girl's ears ringing afterwards.

"Poached! Barbecued! Roasted!" Souda was babbling now, and despite the situation, Koizumi couldn't resist clicking her tongue in irritation.

"Hey, you know how I just said _we _were going to work something out?"

"Yeah?"

"Change that to _I_, and keep running."

"Oh, _now_ we're stewed. And chewed. Not to mention totally scr-"

"U–um… Maybe w-we should... s-stop running-?"

"Well, we're toast i-if we stop", Koizumi snapped, ignoring the mechanic's wail at her unfortunate choice of words(_"Toasted! It's confirmed!"_). "We have to keep going."

"B-b-but... I–I can see a cliff, um, r–r–right in front of us…? Th–the log doesn't even block the way p–properly… Wh-what a shoddy job!"

"You want _that _to be your final words?"

"Hey, it _is _shoddy." Souda pointed out. "It's not even pointing sideways, across the cliff. It's pointing straight ahead."

"If I get out of this alive, I'm carving 'shoddy' into your gravestones!" Koizumi growled, dropping back behind her companions and turning to face the beast. "A-all right. Hey, you! Over here-!"

Now, the photographer intended for her messy death to slow the thing down enough for the other two to get away from the cliff that they apparently could see. It was split-second reasoning at its finest - they had a much better chance of escaping this awful, awful situation, since (a) they could see the cliff and (b) she was the only person the Monobeast was supposed to be after. This was admittedly a very brave maneuver, and the sort that might have gotten Koizumi a post-mortem medal, but unfortunately it fell flat - _literally_, because she'd somehow failed to register that two very scared teenagers were, indeed, still holding onto her. During her turn, she ran straight into one of them and tripped over the other, and all three of them wound up on the ground in a tangled heap, the enormous killer robot bearing down on top of them. There was no way out from under the pile, not in the dark when she was already gasping for breath, grimacing in pain. This was her fault, as much as it was her fault for bumping into the beast in the first place and then deciding to run for the nearest human voice in her earlier panic.

Thanks to her idiocy, they were all going to die here.

She felt Souda's frightened leap from the top of the pile, felt him push off her back and jam her chest into the dirt. It was a sudden, ridiculous act of either extreme bravery or complete cowardice, and of course he was screaming at the top of his lungs, but it didn't matter - he'd gone and _done_ it. Going off what she could hear, the creature leaped high over the two girls and came after him, the most interesting prey, and its claws sliced the air inches from her heads. It was _built_ for speed, and it was ever so fast despite its considerable size, faster than even a very frightened mechanic. Koizumi's heart pounded hard, but even its frantic pace couldn't quite keep up with her thoughts. That awful beast would take the mechanic down, that or it would drive him straight off the cliff, and then it would come back for them, and they were all going to die, and it'd all be her fau-

"Oi, vey! Metal-head!"

And then there was light, reflecting off the weird goggles Tsumiki was wearing, and of course the hide of the enormous metal lion crouched over Souda, the creature frozen in position as it tried to adjust to the change in brightness. Koizumi shuddered at both sights; glancing back towards a truly unlikely pair of rescuers; Mioda and Hinata, the latter with a smear of black lipstick on his cheek. Then again, both of them _were _just standing there, and their minds both felt cold and dead, so perhaps there was an intelligent mastermind behind their appearance, one with an elaborate plan to take down the Monobeast who was no longer stunned by the light, and currently threatening to eat the mechanic's face.

_Speaking of which-_

"I said, _hey! _Hey, hey, you, you-!" Mioda just about screamed, and she charged at the robot with a disturbing amount of bravado. This didn't last all that long - as expected from a very cross animal who had been about to chow down at long last, the robot turned and stood over its prey with a snarl that made the ground tremble, and Souda use several expletives Koizumi wasn't even aware existed yet. It was loud, and for the musician, that sound must have been amplified several times over. Mioda soon echoed the Monobeast's challenge with a screech of mixed fear and pain, jumping backwards. Incensed by her movement, the creature sprang at her display of weakness - but not _at _her. No - by the time Mioda had finished leaping backwards, the robotic lion was sitting firmly on the ground perhaps five metres from her, with the spotlight of her torch right between its big paws. Koizumi heard Tsumiki coo softly, and a smile tugged at her lip. She couldn't help herself - the enormous, scary thing that had been trying to kill them two minutes ago was now legitimately engaged by a little light, and the resulting spectacle was almost _cute_, in a terribly dangerous sort of way.

"Here, kitty!" the guitarist called, and pointed the torch a good way off to the right, letting the Monobeast chase it before she turned to the left, which caused it to run the other way. Hinata beckoned to the two girls on the ground, and somehow Souda _hadn't_ passed out from fear; as they staggered from the edge of the cliff, he crawled after them, eventually managing to pull himself up against the other boy. He was breathing heavily, shaking from head to toe - he pulled up his goggles, and his eyes were wide and brimming with tears. Normally, Koizumi would have told him off for such a display of open cowardice, but then again, not a minute ago all three of them had been about to die horribly. She couldn't very well blame him for being afraid.

"Okay, everyone!" Mioda was saying now, but it didn't really register with the photographer; they were backing away from the Monobeast now, walking away together, and everything was all right again. They just had to find some way to stop its prancing after them, following the light, and it wasn't like that was a hard thing to accomplish. In Koizumi's mind, all the musician needed to do was put down the torch, and then the lion would just sit there, watching the-

"Ibuki really, really, _really_ hopes everyone brought sunglasses along!"

-but then again, this was _Mioda_, and because she was her wonderful self, she chose to chuck the thing straight off the cliff. With only a soft growl of frustration, the creature jumped after it, and it fell, it fell, it _fell._ Steel whistling through the sudden darkness was the only indication of its fall, but when it actually hit the water below, they all heard it; the loud splash that caused Souda to jolt upright next to Koizumi, then the explosion, which had him just about collapse out of terror right then and there. It was a flashy thing to say the least - ground shook yet again, then there was bright, bright light, and their kinda-sorta-rescuer whooped in joy. "Whoaaaaaa! It's even more awesome than Ibuki could have had hoped for!"

As the blaze died down to a sizeable fireball out on the water, Tsumiki whimpered, Souda decided that now would be an excellent time to remember to scream, Hinata stared emptily into the distance, and Koizumi groaned, burying her face in her hands. She couldn't read the guitarist's mind, but thanks to this, a perfect opportunity for peace and trust between the five of them had just been utterly ruined. They were going to be in _so much trouble_ for ruining one of Monobear's precious creations - she couldn't see how he wouldn't punish them, and knowing him, he'd try to use that punishment to keep them apart.

But then again, maybe that was what the puppetmaster behind the two clearly brainwashed people in the group _wanted. _And since Koizumi wasn't about to let them have their way, she made a promise right then and there, as she watched the flames dance over the waves, a silent reminder of the thing that had almost killed her.

_Mioda... Hinata... You guys saved my life. So - I'm going to make use of this life! I'll set you both free. Then, we're gonna trust each other._

_We won't let the brainwasher win._

_And we definitely won't let the Monobear win!_


	7. Chapter Six: The Announcement

**A/N: **Final warning that if you read the original chapter four, which finished with Souda beating up a Monobeast, you need to re-read chapters four and five!

* * *

"Now, I _would _make the usual announcement – but ohhhhh, you bastards are in _so much trouble!_ This isn't gonna be a good day for _anyone_ now!"

Mioda let out a sleepy groan, raising herself from the pillows and stealing a glance at the screen in her cabin. As expected, that awful bear was wailing away, waving its cocktail glass in a fashion it presumed to be threatening. "My poor, poor little Monobeast! You ought to be ashamed of yourselves! You bastards blew it up, in cold blood no less! I nearly spat my _pina colada _all over the screen!"

This lecture went on for some minutes; and Mioda could imagine that the others had probably tuned out after the first twenty seconds. Monobear was merely telling them all off for something not all of them had done, and so long as he continued to yell and scream, the worst emotion any of them would have felt was irritation. He wasn't about to do anyth–

"–so I've devised a fitting punishment for our five Super–High–School–Level _Idiots!_"

"Wh–what?!" Mioda stammered, hurriedly rolling out of bed and to her feet. Unfortunately, it wasn't as neat as she would have liked it to be; the sudden flow of blood to her head meant that she swayed a little on the spot, causing the bear to break out into a series of barking laughs.

"Upupupupu! Nothing like a little threat to bring out the slapstick! I think the prize has to go to Souda, though – what a leap!" He paused for thought, and the sound of applause echoed through the loudspeaker. That was probably a recording of applause – Mioda was no stranger to the world of entertainment, and it didn't seem at all likely that Monobear would be applauded by any of the others. Nevertheless, the little bear bowed to his invisible and possibly nonexistent audience, speaking once again. "Well, _thankyou!_ So nice to see my judgement still holds true. Now, I have to thank the Academy–"

_Get to the point!_ Mioda just about shrieked at him. He was dragging out the explanation quite deliberately; milking the tension for all it was worth. He was enjoying their reactions too much to simply get to the point; the guitarist knew that her own expression at the news of her imminent punishment would have been priceless in itself, and the bear was watching sixteen fairly similar reactions; no–one but those five knew what had gone on that night, so the others probably thought they were somehow responsible as well. On and on the bear went, accepting his self–presented Monokuma Medal with no small amount of fanfare. If he had gone on for much longer, Mioda would have cut loose with a cry of _"Get on with it!"_, but someone else must have done it first – for the bear abruptly stopped mid–speech. He let out a loud sigh, shaking his head sadly, then leaned close to the screen, the applause cutting out with a screech of static that made the guitarist's sensitive ears buzz.

"Fiiiiiine, here's the deal – I'm on a tight schedule! I want some good ol'–fashioned entertainment, and you bastards totally destroyed something very dear to me. I was so fond of my little Monobeast, and if you'd actually left behind any remains, I'd totally have cradled 'em! My bear–tears would have had my furry cousins in uprising! I would have gotten an Emmy! So, so, so, because you guys totally ruined my award opportunity – if no–one _else_ is dead in two days, I'm gonna punish five certain idiots! I've got a reeeeeeeallyyyyyyy great punishment for you all, too, all set up! A real whiz–bang of an execution! Dead sure to win an Emmy!"

The screen went black, and Mioda's mouth felt dry; her knees were shaking. If no–one else acted, she would be executed with five of the people she was trying to save. The only way out was for someone else to take her place, yes, but – what kind of a peace would that leave her with? It certainly wouldn't be the perfect peace that Mioda strove for, with everyone living together in her little dollhouse. Someone would be missing; even if the killer was found and dealt with accordingly, the others would surely grieve, the horrible murder hanging over their heads like the fabled sword of Damocles. Mioda had written a song about that particular weapon, and it hadn't exactly been a pretty one. No, no – she absolutely had to foil each and every attempt on someone's life over the next few days.

That said, Mioda could not allow herself to be executed. There simply could be no peace without her influence; as far as she knew, she was the only person capable of creating such a situation, and the only person capable of standing up to that nefarious mind–reader. There just _had_ to be another way out of the situation, a way that no–one had yet considered; she had abilities that no–one else had, abilities no–one could possibly hope to have, and she was determined to use them to get her desired happy ending. She certainly couldn't murder someone, but she couldn't just lie down and die either.

What if someone _pretended_ to lie down and die, then? The idea admittedly appealed to Mioda – perhaps she could force one of her subjects to play dead, barely breathe and never move. All she needed to do was to get Tsumiki to reveal just how much one's heart and breathing rate needed to be slowed down before the person in question would be dead to the world – but then again, controlling such basic functions wasn't something she'd done before. Would the person who found themselves comatose be able to obey her and wake up exactly when she told them to? Once she had started, did she have to order their every shallow breath, or would they continue to breathe on their own? Mioda might have been a rather practical girl, but she didn't exactly want to find the answer to that one out the hard way, accidentally killing someone as she tried to make them play dead.

And so, as she trotted out the door of her cabin and strolled down the path towards the lodge, the guitarist decided that in order to get some answers to her questions, she would have to experiment throughout the day. There was nothing wrong with experimenting; after all, the kerfuffle last night could have been avoided if only she'd had a better handle on Souda and Tsumiki. They'd panicked pretty much because she had; if only they had just stayed where they were, they would never have become involved in the Koizumi – vs – Monobeast situation, and so Mioda would never have jumped in to protect the slaves she was technically responsible for. If only Koizumi had been left alone to handle the situation, only her life would have been on the line now – still not an easy thing for the guitarist to take, but far easier than simultaneously trying to protect and watch over five people at once–

"I'm gonna kill you!"

And at those ominous words from somewhere within the lodge, Mioda broke into a run.

* * *

Now, Koizumi knew full well that Kuzuryuu didn't _really_ mean what he'd just yelled in Souda's face, that he was regretting it the instant he'd said it, but that didn't make his threat any less disturbing. There was a deathly silence in the restaurant, broken only by Souda's soft whimper, followed by an outright snarl from the gangster. "Do you hear me? This is all your fault, so you're going _down_." Small as he was, the guy was nevertheless backing the mechanic towards the tables, and standing near the door of the restaurant with fresh bandages over her injury, Koizumi was in no position to be doing anything about it. If Souda was to, say, go for one of the kitchen utensils laid out on the tables, disaster was quite literally close at hand; and that wasn't what Koizumi needed at all. Not that she really knew _what _she wanted since that dreadful announcement, but she was sure it didn't involve anyone dying.

A lucky thing, then that the two arguing boys weren't the only ones in the room. At the main table, just behind where Souda was standing, a large, cloth–covered object straightened itself, and sighed, then turned towards the one–sided argument, revealing itself to be Byakuya Togami. The guy stared mournfully one last time at his tower of toast, eggs, and bacon, then as Souda wailed something utterly incomprehensible, decided that he'd heard enough.

"He merely admitted to being one of the five involved," Togami snorted, stepping to the side and then in front of Souda even as he folded his arms; there was nothing but irritation in his mind, irritation adequately reflected in his pose and words. It was almost frightening how precisely he calculated every movement, his every display of emotion carefully gauged, but then again, it _did _mean that he was every bit in control of his actions as he wanted the others to believe. "That does _not _mean he was responsible," he added, and Koizumi guessed there'd be some other time to read the big guy properly; her gaze flickered between the lone heir and the two teens he'd positioned himself between: the crybaby, and the aforementioned crybaby's main attacker.

There wasn't much to be said about Souda, since his head was buried between his knees and he kept glancing towards the nearest food–laden table as though that might help him somehow, but of Kuzuryuu, currently trying to peek around Togami's bulk, there was a great deal to be said. For one thing, the guy seemed to be hell–bent on telling the world that he was absolutely a menace, even if he didn't quite believe that himself. Despite his tiny stature in comparison to Togami, he showed the larger teen no respect whatsoever; he clicked his tongue, glaring about the room in a gesture that looked a good deal more aggressive than it was supposed to look, then strutted forwards. "Then what the hell is it _supposed_ to mean?" he spat in the heir's face. "He's got to be one of the ones that's supposed to already get killed, right? Unless he's even stupider than he looks!"

"I don't look stupid!" protested the pink–haired mechanic in the bright yellow jumpsuit, which definitely didn't look silly at all.

Togami sighed, glancing over his shoulder and reminding himself that he should look very, very disgusted with Souda, but he turned back before the mechanic could lift his head and see it. That odd slip of his mental script admittedly surprised Koizumi, but the heir showed no surprise whatsoever, regarding the gangster with nothing but calmness. "Perhaps he is," he said, "but perhaps he is not. I do not think we will be receiving much of an answer from him, however. Wouldn't you agree?"

"If you'd let me at him," hissed Kuzuryuu, "then I'd have him _talking_, all right–!" Several images flashed into Koizumi's mind of just what he was thinking of doing, and she cringed; they weren't pretty.

"You're not going to extort him!" she snapped, stalking over from where she had been watching the little fight, a few metres away from the restaurant's doorway. Togami looked mildly surprised at her entrance, and Kuzuryuu's venom was quite suddenly directed at her instead of the mechanic. "This isn't some criminal underworld fantasy of yours, okay? We're trapped together on this island, so–"

"Here comes the fuckin' pep talk!" the gangster growled. "And I suppose _you_ want your peaceful desert island fantasy, right? Don't you go lecturing me, hypocrite!" He took a deep breath, then went on, his voice dropping to a quiet hiss that rattled Koizumi far more than his shouting ever had. "Where I come from, extorting is perfectly normal. So, you had better keep a close eye on Crybaby over there, 'cos otherwise you're gonna peek in one day and–"

"Did someone say _exorcism?_"

And just like that, the dramatic tension was utterly ruined by possibly the most dramatic person on the island, Gundam Tanaka. He had decided to stand smack–bang in the middle of the doorway, the morning sun making his shadow long, and the morning breeze making his purple scarf flap menacingly. Or, at least – that _would _have been menacing, had not three hamsters been clinging onto the ends. It took him a while to notice that his pets were ruining the whole 'menacing' thing – and the resulting scramble to get them back inside his scarf wasn't exactly menacing, either.

"A–are you mortals _deaf_, now?" he said, hurriedly cramming two tiny balls of fluff into the folds around his neck and reaching for a third, glaring about the room as though the occupants had somehow been responsible for the hamster disaster. "However, my understanding is that my earlier question was merely a test of your intelligence! I know, for one, that my many ears cannot have deceived me! With ten ears did I hear that _yes_, an exorcism is definitely required!"

And so, with great strides that set his scarf trailing behind him, Tanaka crossed the room and closed on Souda, who was currently curled up in a ball on the floor. Togami and Kuzuryuu exchanged looks of resignation and got out of the way of the wannabe exorcist, the former returning to his tower of a breakfast while the latter decided to go and sulk in a corner, his back to the others. "Greetings, foul demon!" Tanaka boomed, and Souda clapped his hands over his ears almost immediately. "I, Gundam Tanaka, Ascendant Lord of Ice, Servant to the Mighty Four Dark Gods of Destruction, will now proceed to claim your vile powers for my own use! Your power level cannot come anywhere near that which my Four Dark Ones bear, for their true form is beyond comprehending! Quake before the wrath which you have brought upon yourself, by infesting this ridiculous excuse of a human! Enter this mighty vessel, that pure darkness may be channeled forth– "

Koizumi tuned out somewhere around that point; for all his bravado, volume, and general theatrics, Tanaka wasn't about to get any sort of demon out of Souda any time soon. Nor was he about to undo the brainwashing that presumably was keeping the guy's thoughts hidden from her – that was _her _job, not his.

_Possessed, indeed_, the photographer thought, wondering if Tanaka actually believed that –and then realizing with a jolt that she didn't know_._ She _should _have known, should have picked up on the answer as soon as Tanaka had glared around the room, as soon as he'd brushed against her on his way to Souda, but she hadn't heard a was a small chance that he was one of those resistant ones the book had mentioned, but – no, they were probably both brainwashed, putting on an ironic little show for the mastermind. The idea made her sick to the stomach; just how far was the puppetmaster going to go with this? Were they watching the whole thing, laughing to themselves?

The photographer turned away in disgust – just in time to catch Mioda and Tsumiki in the doorway. The nurse was doing the usual cringing routine, her mind well and truly in the grip of someone else, though her current position only seemed to be held by the guitarist standing behind her. However, at least she _looked _like regular Tsumiki, which was more than could be said for Mioda – the guitarist's head was tilted to the side in the fashion of a somewhat confused dog, but a smirk pulled at her lip, and her shoulders shook with silent laughter. It was only for a moment –the girl caught Koizumi's eye almost immediately and looked away, making her way into the restaurant – but it was _enough_.

Koizumi watched her like a hawk from then on. Of everyone in the room, the guitarist must have been closest to the mastermind, to have that sort of reaction. Therefore, Mioda was in the most need of rescue – she might actually be able to tell the photographer who the mastermind was, or at least give her a clue. Heck, she might even be able to give Koizumi a clue _now_; Mioda was pretty strong–willed, surely she was fighting the brainwashing right now. Every one of her ridiculous statements could contain some sort of clue–

"Oooh, Byakuya–chan's got a real tower today!" Mioda commented, hopping over to where Togami had managed to gather onto his plate what Koizumi estimated to be half the table's worth of food. "Ibuki hopes it's not compensating for anything, 'mmmmn?"

And as Togami gagged and Souda decided to take a break from screaming at Tanaka and snicker his way instead, Koizumi decided to remind herself that Mioda's statements were earlier described as _'ridiculous'_ for a reason.


	8. Chapter Seven: The Other Announcement

**A/N: **I really, really needed to fiddle with some logistics concerning something that happens in a later chapter, so this was on the late side! Hope you all enjoy it anyway. :D

* * *

Okay, so Mioda admittedly got sidetracked from her mission to Find Out Who Just Yelled That Thing About Killing Someone two seconds into her beginning it. That wasn't _entirely _her fault; Tsumiki had all but sprang in front of her, and they'd ended up tangled on the ground. "I–I'm so s–sorry!" she was wailing, even as she struggled with all her might to get up; which of course only made the situation worse. Several times, Mioda's legs were kicked out from under her by the nurse's thrashing, and it wasn't like she could order the other girl to just _stop_. Yes, Tsumiki was still brainwashed, but what if someone saw the nurse taking her orders? That'd definitely look weird, and after what had gone down last night, the guitarist didn't need anyone becoming any more suspicious of her. Then again, two girls all but fighting on the ground had to look odd – if not somewhat attractive. They were, after all, struggling on the ground in short skirts, with Mioda pinned in a very compromising way under the sobbing, constantly apologizing nurse; both of them trying to get up despite the guitarist's left leg being entangled in the unwinding bandages of Tsumiki's right leg. Honestly, if this wasn't going to be seen by some passing bloke as even a little bit fanservice–y, Mioda was going to put on her very best surprised face when she walked into the restaurant–

"Ooooh! Might this be a spot of mud–wrestling, minus the mud? A wise choice – the view from here is _stellar._"

_Of course._

Perhaps Hanamura had some sort of radar for finding girls in embarrassing positions, or maybe he'd just heard the scuffle and come out to have a look. Either way, there he was, leaning daintily over the rail of his cabin's porch to peer down at the two girls, both frozen in shock. His head was cocked to one side, and Mioda was dead sure she could see a little blood running from his nose. "I _do_ like the morning show!" he added, and the guitarist cut loose with a shriek loud enough to cause Tsumiki to spring off her, losing her leg–bandage in the process.

"Aaaaaack! D–don't look at me, Hanamura–! It's s–so _embarrassing!_" she yowled, covering her face with both hands. Mioda got up without a word, quietly ordering Tsumiki to run to the hotel's restaurant and make sure no–one had died there. It was a struggle – the nurse, after all, just wanted to curl up into a small ball of embarrassment and sob for all eternity – but with some nudging, Tsumiki hesitated for a few seconds, trembling from head to toe, before she abruptly grabbed Mioda's hand, then turned and fled towards the hotel. Caught off guard by her sudden act of semi–independence, the guitarist was dragged several metres from her dream of brainwashing the chef to cook her all the food she ever wanted. She struggled against the nurse at first, then remembered that yes, that _had _been a death threat two minutes ago, and she really should get over there before anyone got more hurt than they likely already were. At the thought, Mioda broke into a sprint; and now it was Tsumiki who was getting dragged along behind.

As it was, the two of them made it up the steps just as Tanaka really got into his speech, and so the first thing Mioda saw was the trainer towering over Souda, making large and goofy gestures with his arms. "I, Gundam Tanaka," he proclaimed, and then he took a breath – "Ascendant Lord of Ice, Servant to the Mighty Four Dark Gods of Destruction, will now proceed to claim your vile powers for my own use!" He took another deep, dramatic, breath, echoing over and over in the quiet of the restaurant, and it was all Mioda could do to keep her giggles silent. She couldn't always understand what Tanaka was saying, no, but from the sound of it – was he saying that the mechanic was somehow _possessed? _Oh, if only he knew that the mechanic was indeed under someone's sway; but not that of a demon. A harmless school–girl was in control of the guy's actions – and okay, so the aforementioned school–girl _was_ now half–tempted to force Souda to act like the Crown Prince of Demons, but that still didn't make Mioda comparable to a creature of the fiery underworld.

"Your power level cannot come anywhere near that which my Four Dark Ones bear, for their true form is beyond comprehending! Quake before the wrath which you have brought upon yourself, by infesting this ridiculous excuse of a human! Enter this mighty vessel, that pure darkness may be channeled forth, that your blight upon this realm may become a plague, that you and I may rule this icy world with you!"

Mioda stopped listening somewhere around that point, but only because she might explode from the effort of holding her giggles in. As it was, her shoulders were shaking, and she couldn't keep herself from smiling, though no–one seemed to have noticed her and Tsumiki in the doorway just yet. Oh, if only Tanaka knew the truth – gosh, his _face _would have been priceless. Maybe when all this was over, she'd tell him, just to see how he'd react–

_Ah, Mahiru–chan's looking at me!_

It was the hardest thing she'd done since facing down the Monobeast last night, but Mioda managed to swallow back her snickering, walk across the room as though nothing had happened, and then engage Togami in some witty repartee. "Oooh, Byakuya–chan's got a real tower today! Ibuki hopes it's not compensating for anything, 'mmmmn?" she began, and Togami merely grunted reply. The guitarist was nothing if not persistent however, and so made further remarks – but unfortunately, the resulting monologue contained so many entendres that it really cannot be printed here. Suffice to say, then, that she was as blunt about her flirting as ever; flirty enough to have Tanaka stop mid–speech _and_ have Koizumi burying her face in her hands. Surely, surely, if people were reacting like that, it meant that Togami, despite all appearances, _had_ to be rattled.

And if the young heir was rattled, then maybe if she pushed him a little further, he might actually show it. Oh, and – of course, if she managed to rattle him enough, then _after_ she had saved four people from an awful punishment they didn't deserve at all, she'd set her sights quite firmly on brainwashing him. Sure, she'd only meant to tease him at first, and that's all it had really been about, but – the sooner she got the majority under her command, all the better, right? And surely Togami was someone who she'd have to plan and prepare for.

Then again – Hinata _was _now glaring at her from the doorway; there was something in his stare that was serious enough to make her back off Togami and wave to the other guy instead. It wasn't like he could have possibly remembered what happened on the beach last night, but all the same – Mioda figured she might as well play it careful for now.

"Hey, Hajime–chaaaan!" she chattered, bounding over to him. Much to her irritation, the guy only seemed to be half–brainwashed, not about to completely obey her, but not about to ignore her commands, either. That could be fixed easily enough, she figured; she'd have to do it when she was practicing for the fake death. It would be for his own good, after all – Hinata needed to obey her for everything to go according to the plan that was slowly forming in her head, but if Mioda succeeded, he and the other three involved would surely be safe from whatever punishment Monobear had set up. "Did he have a good night's sleep?"

There was a loud sigh of relief from everyone else in the room at the guitarist's finally saying something that wasn't dirty, but she chose to ignore it in favor of listening to Hinata's mumble. "We need to talk", he said, so softly that Mioda was sure she was the only person who could have heard it. There was no venom in his voice, not that she could pick up anyway; but there wasn't exactly any excitement or joy in it either. Honestly, he'd said it as though he'd been asking a teacher for a quick chat after class, and Mioda couldn't tell whether that was a good or a bad thing. So, she hesitated, and then she nodded; a slight movement, more a inclining of her head than anything else, but it was still there.

"Me? Oh, I slept like a log", Hinata said in a voice that the rest of the room could actually hear, and took her hand, leading her back into the room. "So, uh – does anyone have any idea what to do now? What Monobear said… I mean, it didn't sound good."

Togami nodded briskly, adjusting his glasses with one finger. "I have a plan. What we must do is–"

"I think it would be best to wait until the others arrive. That way, everyone gets the same explanation." Koizumi, of course, but Mioda threw her a curious look anyway – only to find that the redhead was staring at her. _Why, _she had no idea; there was something like an accusation in that gaze, though she'd be darned if she knew what exactly it was. The guitarist shrugged and looked away, happy that their gazes somehow hadn't become locked despite there being a good few seconds of eye contact – the last thing Mioda needed was to have an accidental brainwashing demonstration right there, in front of Togami and Kuzuryuu and Hinata _and _Gundam, perhaps the most vocal group of people on the island. When the guitarist had properly figured out how this whole mechanic worked, then she'd be sure to seek out Koizumi alone; for now, the photographer was off limits.

"Uh, whatever Mahiru–chan says–?"

"I can't take this", Koizumi murmured, then raised her voice. "Hey, Mioda – we need to talk outside. Just for a minute, okay?"

One minute. If she was quick, and she focused her hardest, that's all it would take. Tempting; very, _very_ tempting. After all – if it didn't work, she had nothing to lose. One minute – that was something of a challenge to Mioda. Could she really brainwash someone so strong–willed in a single minute? There was only one way to find out, and since she didn't exactly stand to lose anything so long as she made sure they were alone, she nodded, meeting the photographer's gaze. One minute, a challenge well and truly accepted – and before she could answer properly, Togami had folded his arms, clicked his tongue. "Tch… That is one minute too long. I thought you wanted everyone _together,_ Koizumi?"

"It's only a minute–!" the photographer began, but the young heir wasn't having any of it.

"A minute too long, and that is that. You may converse all you want _after _I have explained what is to happen." Koizumi glared hard at him, presumably about to argue, but then changed her mind and took a step back, deciding to glare at Mioda instead. The guitarist returned the glare with ease, until it became a full–on staring match, and she started to feel queasy. Sick, even; little spots were dancing in the corner of her vision, and she felt very light–headed. Was this how normally you felt if you stared at someone for too long–?

Togami's bulk came between them, a rather effective way of stopping the miniature war that was going on right under his nose. Instantly, the strange, sick feeling was gone. Though Mioda chalked it down to the island's tropical heat, and fervently wished that she could have _made_ him give her a minute with Koizumi, the heir completely ignored her pleading look, choosing instead to frown over at Hinata. "Hmmm… You skinny people should make more use of those legs you like to boast about. Run to all the cabins. Bring everyone here, no matter how unwilling they are. At this rate, my second helping will go cold."

Hinata frowned, but trudged towards the door anyway. With a little mental poking from Mioda, he then proceeded to bolt as though some demonic creature was at his heels, probably one that Tanaka would be all too happy to elaborate on, if he wasn't still standing over Souda and lecturing him. Togami cocked an eyebrow at the sudden sprinting, but said nothing, instead turning his back on the two girls and going back to the table to eat.

* * *

The others piled in one by one, and Koizumi couldn't help but shift nervously from foot to foot. First came her accidental impulsive decision to try and get Mioda un–brainwashed already, a surely–very–bad–decision for both her sanity _and _for whatever weird, messed–up situation she was in. Yes, the girl was a sorry sight, but Koizumi just couldn't do anything like that in the future; a move like that could be fatal in this odd game of chess. The staring match she'd had with the girl hadn't ended well, either; Koizumi had felt sick to her stomach after a few seconds. The brainwasher must have done something to stop her getting at Mioda, which was understandable if she really had valuable information about them – but until she got hold of that book again, the photographer wasn't going to get at her main target just yet.

Then, after the staring contest, Hinata's fairly active mind had gone dead just before he'd sprinted out the door. Could the mastermind somehow control people to make them look like they _were _thinking normally? If so, Koizumi didn't fancy her own chances of survival – she would have no idea who was friend and who was under the sway of the foe.

And now, to top it all off, Togami was refusing to answer the big question of what he _did _have in mind to keep everyone alive. Maybe he didn't have anything, and admittedly the photographer couldn't see a way out; either someone had to die, or five would die a pretty undeserving death. Then again – she had heard that the Togami line was in fact a line of hoity–toity geniuses, so if anyone here would be able to save her and the other four without losing a life along the way, it would be him. Koizumi was both eager and terrified to hear his plan, and had admittedly tried to read his mind earlier as he ate, get some idea of what he wanted. But – as hard as she'd tried to read him, he'd kept his thoughts sternly trained on his food, and the photographer wasn't interested in anything he had to say about _that_.

"So, about this plan of yours–"

She was hoping Togami would think about that if he mentioned it, but he cut her off with a grunt and a curt shake of the head. "We–" he mumbled, then swallowed and straightened – "are not going to discuss this until after the others get here. What does it take for you to understand such a simple concept?"

The mind–reader sighed. "I wasn't going to ask for details. I was just wondering if… if you really think that whatever it is will work?" she tried, searching his mind for clues relating to the plan. None were to be found, since it seemed that Togami lived in the present only, thinking only things that needed to be thought about _right now_. For instance – he was currently thinking about how irritating it was for someone such as himself to be called away from his breakfast for such an asinine question.

"How irritating it is, for one such as I to be called away from my breakfast for such an asinine question!" Togami growled, and Koizumi blinked in some confusion; the others she'd mind–read didn't think out their exact wording like that. Togami was evidently planning out his every word, but why pay such close attention?

_Perhaps he's the mastermind…_

After all – she wasn't supposed to be able to read the brainwasher, but that didn't necessarily mean that they had to have a lack of _thoughts – _just a very guarded, very focused mind. And Togami was now the person who with this plan of his, could hold them all in the palm of his hand. Koizumi knew nothing about how brainwashing worked, but – Mioda, Souda, Tsumiki, and Hinata would all grateful if he was to save their lives with his plan, and grateful slaves would be happier slaves.

"…Koizumi, that _does _mean you should reply in a timely fashion. Otherwise, you will further displease–"

"All right, _all right!" _the photographer snapped. "Stay calm already. I _was _going to try and think up a decent answer, but – yeah, I guess you're as sure of your plan as ever. Shouldn't have asked."

"Keep that up, and I might not tell you about the plan at _all_", Togami huffed, turning back to his food; and he answered no further questions or comments after that. All Koizumi could do was wait, though thankfully that wasn't long. The rest were for the most part already here, and Tanaka was finishing off his lecture and stalking off to sulk in a corner at the reluctance of Souda's demon to leave its host. Without his constant background yelling, the place went into a sort of expectant quiet - and when Hinata finally carried a fainted Hanamura (still bleeding from the nose, of _course_) into the restaurant and deposited him on the floor, poking the chef with his shoe until his eyes were open, the heir took that as a cue to begin. Dabbing a handkerchief to his face, Togami carefully wiped a mixture of toast crumbs and bacon from his mouth, then stalked into the middle of the room, glared about himself, and began.

"My… acquaintances. Soon to be my friends, perhaps, but for now you are merely acquaintances." Here, he paused to glare at Koizumi, which would have been pretty intimidating had the photographer not instantly known about the image he had in his head. She'd heard that one thing to do when you were a nervous speaker was to imagine that your audience was naked, and thankfully Togami wasn't thinking_ that_, but he was drawing off a pretty darn goofy image for reasons she guessed were related to his feeling comfortable speaking. There, in the confines of his own head, was a clear image of the heir from a few years ago, standing on a stage in a big, ill–fitting knitted sweater, pausing before a huge crowd as they waited with bated breath to hear the rest of his monologue. He had worked all year to perfect this–

_Wait, what–? Why would _Togami _be giving a–_

The heir broke eye contact, and the presumably fictitious image was gone, leaving Koizumi to stand dumbfounded as he continued on. "My understanding is that some of you may soon be leaving us, and I would like to get to know all of you before that sad day comes. In fact… I think we all need to understand each other much better. So, for that reason, I will be throwing a party tonight, in the old lodge."

At this, murmurs of excitement bubbled through the chattier people in the group, and as Koizumi looked around, she saw people's minds racing. Sonia was already planning out what she would say for the opening speech, Souda was trying to figure out how to court someone at the party, and Saionji was of course plotting to add laxatives to the food if ever she got the chance. Not that Koizumi reckoned she _would_ – the spread Hanamura was now dreaming up looked to be enormous – but the photographer made a mental note to watch the dancer anyway.

"Ah, but that place is almost as filthy as me!" Komaeda exclaimed over the noise, and the heir nodded sagely.

"That is exactly why I will be cleaning it. If I undertake this task, nothing will – shall we say, _happen_ during the event."

Komaeda's expression didn't change, but on the inside he was kicking himself – why _exactly_, Koizumi didn't know. The main reason was already buried underneath enough negative comments to sink a ship."I see. But – we'll need someone to guard the entrance, won't we? To stop Monobear from getting in."

"Of course", the heir replied, pushing back his glasses with a finger. "We will also need someone to guard the office, where the circuit breakers are kept, lest some misfit tries to turn off the lights. Oh, and – the storeroom will need to be carefully watched. It will take too much time to clear the main floor of the lodge itself for me to move all those shelves from the storeroom, and I'm not going to have anyone fall over during this– this party."

"Then I'll guard the storeroom!" Komaeda smiled, bobbing his head politely to Togami, but Koizumi barely registered it; what the heir had almost said instead of _'party'_ had left her reeling. It was a horrible, horrible thought – only two words long – but it nevertheless left her speechless. She didn't intervene as Pekoyama offered to guard the office and Nanami the entrance; didn't so much as speak up against Hanamura's meat–related comments as the chef tried to start talking Togami through the possible menu for that night. When the main conversation was clearly over, the details had been sorted out and most of the group was either talking to each other, eating breakfast themselves, or quietly seeing themselves out, the photographer was one of the first to leave the restaurant–

–where she promptly burst into tears, because it looked like the mastermind was finally making their move to leave the island, they were going to kill someone, and there was nothing she could do about it. The photographer sprinted from the hotel, sobbing as quietly as she could, every inch of her wanting to just scream.

_I'm not going to have anyone fall over during this… this… final supper._

And given that her and the other four involved in the thing last night had _two _days of suppers left, not one, there was only one way Byakuya Togami could have known that this was to be the _'final supper'_.


	9. Chapter Eight: Oh, The Feels

**A/N**: Author's uploading this pretty much back-to-back with the last chapter, because there was rather a long wait last time, gotta pay it back somehow. But... yeah, I'm gonna have to warn for feels. Lots of feels. Very upsetting feels. To me, this whole chapter is one long feel.

* * *

Mioda, curious to see if Koizumi wanted to continue things outside, waited only a few seconds after her departure before trotting outside herself, blinking in the sun. Not that she'd known Koizumi long, but it wasn't like the photographer to shy away from some possible position of responsibility–

–definitely wasn't like her to _run_, either, but there she was, bolting from the restaurant. Watching her from the outside stairs of the hotel, Mioda couldn't help but frown – no, that wasn't like Koizumi at all. For someone so hell–bent on being logical, her move just didn't make any sense; not with an injury, not after last night – surely by now, she'd have learned something about running with all those bandages. The musician bit her lip, thinking carefully whether she wanted to follow the other girl. Yes, it would give her less time to work things out with the whole fake–death thing, but she had all of tomorrow to use. What if Koizumi ended up hurting herself even more, or worse still – what if she somehow ended up dead, with Mioda the last person to have seen her, to have maybe helped her out? She'd almost gotten killed last night, so it wasn't _completely_ out of the question – and Mioda didn't think she could live with that, so she took the steps two at a time and charged after the other girl.

"Ummm… Is Mahiru–chan going all Nekomaru–chan on Ibuki, now? Ibuki hopes it's not contagious, 'cos she's only got enough energy for like… Two spirited people, tops? C'moooon, slow down for at least as long as it takes Ibuki to catch up, then she can decide who's 'it' with Mahiru–chan!"

Koizumi didn't have the musician's hearing, of course, but Mioda was pretty loud when she was shouting. The photographer stumbled to a halt, glancing over her shoulder, and–

–started running?

_Again?_

She heard a shout from somewhere behind her, but right now Mioda just didn't care at all about any of what was going on back there. Right now, she needed to stop Koizumi from potentially getting herself killed over Whatever It Was, and so she ignored everything else in favour of barreling after the photographer once again. "Ibuki's going for a sprint, okay? Okay! Bye, Teruteru–chan and Hajime–chan and Byakuya–chan and Akane–chan and Kazuichi–chan and Gundam–chan and Nagito–chan and– heh, they probably can't hear Ibuki now. But, Mahiru–chan… Hey, Mahiru–chan–!"

Koizumi only broke out into as best a sprint as she could, which was admittedly pretty slow given her injury. Not particularly wanting to end up with a heart attack on her hands, Mioda put her head down and ran her hardest, closing the distance between them.

"Mahiru–chan?" she asked, slowing down to a jog at Koizumi's side. "What's up? _Or_, as Ibuki likes to say, whassu–"

"Y–you already _know!_" came the reply, in between little gasps for breath. The red–head rested for a moment with her hands on her knees, staring up at Mioda as though "Or… maybe you don't. Yeah… Actually, you probably don't. Just… forget I ever said anything, okay?"

She turned on her heel and walked away – and though she was trembling when she did it, and it was really more of a stagger than a walk, it still screamed _rejection_. Mioda blinked, then shrugged, and went trotting after her. "But Mahiru–chaaan, today's opposite day! Ibuki'll never forget this! But, then she's never gonna be able to sleep, wondering whether or not she knew, soooo… Mahiru–chan's gotta tell Ibuki what's wrong, mmm-hmmm? Then Ibuki'll think _really hard_ about it, she'll strike a pose like this, or this, or even this, and then if she remembers that Mahiru–chan already told Ibuki whatever it was, then–"

Koizumi looked over her shoulder, she _glared_, and Mioda decided that there was something awfully interesting about her shoes. She only dared move when she heard the click of the photographer's tongue, and the sniffling was a little further away from her than it had been before. "C'moooon," she pleaded, "or Mahiru–chan won't be able to sleep either! Just tell Ibuki, or she and Mahiru–chan'll both be creatures of the night before long! Howling at the moon! Staring at hot guys in their sleep! Maybe even _hugging _hot guys! Who knows?"

Koizumi stopped, and when she next spoke, Mioda was well aware that it was through gritted teeth. "What do I have to make you leave me alone?"

"Ibuki doesn't want to be hugging hotties_ all_ night, sooooo Mahiru–chan had better tell her what she thinks Ibuki might or might not know! Um – not that Ibuki phrased that very well, but she could totally try again! Okay, so take two–"

"I get it, I get it," Koizumi said, and then she suddenly turned back to Mioda in a display that would have been intimidating, had she not been wiping away a few errant tears with the back of her hand as she did so. "Do you know that Togami's planning on killing someone tonight?"

"H–he's _what?!_" Mioda blurted, still somehow managing to speak despite the shock being enough to have her whole body going stiff for the second time that day. Togami? Going to kill someone? Tonight? Was that _really_ what he'd set up the whole party thing? Mioda could have sworn that he was much stronger–willed than that. No – Togami just _giving in _to Monobear's desires wasn't right at all. He was the big protector of the group, wasn't he?

Wasn't he?

_But even if he's not… Why did he tell Mahiru–chan that he was planning…? _

Was he trying to goad someone into killing? Was he trying to raise the stakes of the party, so that he could pretend that he was doing a good thing by protecting everyone? Was he perhaps seriously messed up, going to kill someone no matter what, and had just decided that he didn't care who knew it? Or had he been warned someone was going to die, and Koizumi had just taken it the wrong way? Try as she might, Mioda couldn't find answers to any of these questions; and aside from perhaps brainwashing Togami, there was no way to get them. She started yelling then, before she even knew what she was doing; yelling half at Koizumi and half at her own doubts and worst fears: "Th–there's no way! Byakuya–chan couldn't have… He _wouldn't!_ He didn't even tell Ibuki first! Wh–why would he–? Ibuki had no idea at all, Byakuya–chan's so sweet to start off with–!"

Koizumi only shook her head, tearing up all over again. "Y–You're joking. No, worse – you're _acting_." Mioda gave the girl a decidedly confused look, and the photographer sighed, though it ended up in two halves due to her choking back a sob in the middle. "You… didn't know what he was planning until now? You, of all people? _Really?_"

Had the musician's display earlier today been _that _dirty?

"Hey! Ibuki might be close to Byakuya–chan, maybe even cuddle–close, but she's not _that_ close!" Here, Mioda made a huge sweeping gesture, which would have looked impressive had it not been Mioda doing it, and went on: "But if Byakuya–chan's really going to do _that_, Ibuki's not gonna be close with him until he's apologized for telling Mahiru–chan that! In fact, Ibuki'll be so far away, she's not gonna _hear _his apology until he's said it a thousand and one times!"

"How about _stopping_ him, instead of just running off?" Koizumi snapped, trying to look as matter–of–fact as possible, then apparently deciding that her composure couldn't be kept up when she was still crying. Before Mioda could answer, the photographer had hunched over, wiping at her tears again as she repeated her earlier words. "C–come _on_…" she whimpered, and there was a definite sob before she went on: "H–how about stopping him? Or are you j–just going to run off, n–now… now you've got what you wanted–!"

There was something like a plea this time round, and that didn't really make sense – why would Koizumi _doubt_ that Mioda would help her stop a murder in its tracks? That would be expected if the musician had been a nasty person, or if she was still a total stranger. But, Mioda wasn't at all nasty – heck, she'd saved the photographer's life last night. So, why was the photographer so doubtful? This was no time to be doubting. What if Togami was already on the move? He was nothing if not efficient – if the plot was already in motion, they had to get at it before something awful happened!

"H–hey!" Mioda blinked, throwing an arm around Koizumi's shoulders. "Of_ course_ Ibuki'll help Mahiru–chan! Ibuki helped Mahiru–chan last night, and it was all super–life–threatening–stuff, sooooo why not now? Or tomorrow, or the day after that, or in like three months when this is all over–"

Never before had the guitarist been forced to stop speaking by someone trying to squeeze the everlasting daylights out of them, but she figured there was a first time for everything.

* * *

_She's resistant._

Never before had Koizumi been so glad to find out that magic hogwash could provide an actual happy conclusion to the whole Mioda problem, but _there you go._ So long as Togami was the mastermind who was perhaps even now getting ready to kill someone – yes, Mioda had to be resistant to not be readable and at the same time not allow Togami to have his way. It wasn't like the photographer hadn't been warned about those sorts of people, just that she hadn't believed it at the time, and hadn't been forced to pay attention to it until now. It explained so much – why she hadn't been able to read the musician the day after all this ridiculous stuff had happened, why Mioda had saved her last night, why she had acted _on_ _her own impulse_ to accidentally cause this whole stupid scenario.

She wanted to apologize to Mioda, for thinking she was somehow brainwashed and desperately needed to be saved, for taking her laughter earlier as something other than snickering at the stupid position Souda and Tanaka had been in, but she couldn't find the words to do it. She wanted to apologize for ever doubting the possibly least logical person of the group, and she wanted to tell her sorry over and over for thinking far too much on how to 'help' someone who just didn't need it. But – no, she had no words, and didn't have the heart to think of any – if she did, she'd have to tell Mioda all about the situation, and Koizumi still couldn't bring herself to do that. She had her own battle to fight here; she could tell the musician all about it when it was over.

And so, after what seemed like an eternity of silence, a quiet "Thank you" was all she managed. Mioda's reply was to wriggle out of the embrace, though only so she could return the hug.

"The thanks are all from Ibuki, really!" she chirped, though it was admittedly a somewhat muffled by Koizumi's shoulder; she laughed then, and the photographer could feel the vibrations. Koizumi shuddered at the tickling, and Mioda brought her head up to rest on her shoulder instead, humming some vague tune or other before she spoke again. "Thanks to Mahiru–chan, Byakuya–chan's not going to get away! Okay? He hasn't got a snowflake's chance, Mahiru–chan'll see!"

There was no way to tell if she was serious about any of that, but Koizumi didn't mind not being able to tell in the least. Talking to Mioda was almost _normal_; there was no overly long delay as there tended to be with the brainwashed, and not being able to read the other girl was something that reminded her of the days before all this trouble with the whole book thing. She stayed in the hug for what seemed like an age, and Mioda seemed to understand it enough to shut up during that time; leaving her with only the sounds of the birds and the sea, the occasional the rustle of fabric as their chests rose and fell. Slowly, slowly, she began to calm – the tears were still there, but her breathing became more regular.

"We should be able to stop him", the photographer nodded when she figured that she could talk without sobbing or gasping, stepping back to face her new accomplice."My guess is that he'll do something at the party."

"What, with everyone there_ and _Nagito–chan and Peko–chan guarding those two rooms? That's pretty daring, Mahiru–chaaaaan! Totally Byakura–chan's style, though." Mioda's brow furrowed, and before Koizumi could agree with what she had just said, she asked the one question Koizumi had hoped she wouldn't. "But… Um, why would Byakuya–chan tell Mahiru–chan in the first place? Liiiiike, Ibuki would _totally _tell someone if she was going to try something super–daringly–awful like that, but that's kinda dumb by Byakuya–chan's standards!"

She took a breath then, and the photographer darted in before Mioda could think of anything more to say on the matter. At this rate, the guitarist might talk herself out of helping Koizumi, and that wasn't something she wanted to happen. "Look, does it really matter _why _he told me what he was thinking of doing?"

"Uh, Mahiru–chan?"

Koizumi sighed, wiping away her tears yet again. She admittedly relished the near–silence this got despite being in Mioda's presence, but she _had _to answer the other girl's question; the musician wasn't going to be prompted to tell her whatever she thought was wrong otherwise. "What is it?"

The guitarist cocked her head to one side in a fashion Koizumi thought was only reserved for puppies, and rushed straight into her little speech. "When someone's excuses are so bad that _Ibuki _can see through them–"

"Okay, okay – I don't want to talk about it, then!" the photographer growled over the top of her, and Mioda fell silent, eyes wide. Even if Mioda's stare didn't _already_ make her feel sick, it would have made Koizumi sick to the stomach anyway, so disgusted she was at herself. What was she doing, keeping secrets like this? "I mean… I _meant–!_" she tried again, but it was impossible to keep her voice from rising – she didn't _want _Mioda to get involved in all this supernatural stuff, didn't want anyone involved – it was none of the guitarist's business, anyway!

"Ehhh? What's Mahiru mean by saying she's mean? Um, Ibuki means… Heh, _aside _from the obvi–"

"Isn't my saying he's planning on killing someone _enough _of a warning for you? What do you need, a ruddy great sign and a television announcement?! A whole crowd yelling it? It's not like I'm asking for you to _kill him first_ or something!" At this, the guitarist cringed back, and Koizumi took a nice, deep breath before she went on, trying hard to keep herself from yelling again. "Look – all we need to do is make sure that least one of us is watching him the whole time. I mean… There's not much he can do in front of us, right?"

_Aside from killing us… No, I should know if he ever thinks about doing that. I can get both us away from him if he decides that we're the targets._

_…Hopefully._

"Aside from killing us, Mahiru–chaaan! After all, he's gonna kill someone tonight! Soooo, it could be _anyone_, even Mahi–"

"Don't be stupid, Mioda!" Koizumi barked. "Why would have he told me if he was planning to kill me? Gives me an awful lot of time to think about how I'm going to avoid it, doesn't it?"

Mioda bit her lip, and once actually seemed to _think_ about this. "Naaaaaaaaah… Nope, nada, non, nopity–nope–nope! 'Cos – if Byakuya–chan told Mahiru–chan, he must be aiming at her, mm–hmmm? He'll give Mahiru–chan a chance to get away and all, but she's gotta use her time to try and outwit him!"

"I don't think Togami's really into the _games_, Mioda."

"Theeeeeeen, why'd he tell Mahiru–chan in the first pla–"

"You _know_ I would have told you by now if I could have told you!" Koizumi snapped, despite having technically brought this repeat of the original question upon herself. "Maybe we'll get an answer out of him if we catch him in the act, I don't know! We don't have a whole lot of time, so – are you going to help me or not?"

"Of course, Mahiru–chan! Or – uhhhh, so long as Ibuki doesn't have to bury any bodies? Because, this one time, Ibuki got into this deal with this hot guy, and–"

"When exactly did I mention anything about– _No_, I don't want to know. "

And with that, Koizumi _did_ turn and start walking again, but at least it was back towards the hotel she'd run from, and at least there was something of a smile pulling at her lip.

* * *

**A/N (yes, again): **Some people like to try and sum up fics, when they're doing cool things like spreading the word and all. So, here is the _true, official_ summing up of the plot of my fic. It is _very_ coherent, and _absolutely_ should be used by anyone who made it this far and still likes the thing.

It reads thus: A book goes after Koizumi, then Mioda goes after whichever male on the island happens to be there at the time, then Koizumi goes after Tsumiki, then considers Nidai, then continues to go after Tsumiki, but now it turns out she's going after a Monobeast instead. The Monobeast goes after Koizumi, then after Tsumiki and Souda as well, then Mioda and Hinata go after everyone the Monobeast is going after, then Koizumi goes after Mioda, Hinata goes after Mioda too, and the readership decides to dogpile and suddenly a lot of people are going after Mioda. Mioda's counterattack involves going after Koizumi, but then they somehow both end up going together after Togami, and then–

How this is neither porn, some rendition of Hunger Games, nor on wtffanfiction, I really don't know.


	10. Chapter Nine: Halp, Halp

**A/N: **Updated! First section remains exactly the same; the Hinata section was a beta section, and has been heavily changed since then. Still gotta warn for some very, _very _strange stuff that goes down in the second section, however; the fic basically takes an acid trip for an extended time.

* * *

They split up after that, each going their own way to try and prepare their best for the party tonight. Koizumi had been a little apprehensive about it, and had taken some convincing – but Mioda was more than happy to let the photographer rest up in preparation for the night ahead. It let her work alone, and left her methods unquestioned.

Checking in on the lodge, she found Togami already hard at work, scrubbing at the floors with a mop. Now, Mioda admittedly considered brainwashing him so that the night would go well, but he kept his back to her while she stood in the doorway, not responding at all to her multiple greetings until she'd gotten to somewhere around forty–boring–ol'–heirs–on–the–wall. Then, he did turn to her, but only to growl at her:

"Mioda, don't you have someone _else _to bother? Leave me and my preparations alone, or you will be left out of the party!"

There was to be no _c'mons _answered, no _whys_ or even _awwwws_; no matter what she said from there, he seemed to be completely impervious. The guitarist heaved a sigh, wondering if perhaps she should pursue the matter, but – no, he had met her eyes with little trouble, and she quite clearly could hear Hanamura moving about in the kitchen. Brainwashing Togami could simply be too difficult to start off with, and if the chef was to come in during the attempt – well, she didn't need a repeat of the whole Hinata thing. A few more minutes were spent pestering the heir to come to some place alone with her and failing miserably; then, Mioda sighed again, and decided to go for Plan B, which was most definitely not thought up in the heat of the moment or anything like that.

The storeroom of the Rocketpunch Market wasn't _really_ being used as a clubroom, she told herself. After all, there were more comfortable places for meetings than an ancient storeroom filled with dust and cobwebs; the airport lobby, for one thing. But – with the old lodge ruled by Byakuya Togami and every chance of the others hanging around the hotel and assorted cabins, the storeroom seemed like the safest of options. It was a place tucked out of view from the path, and a place where she could easily hear anyone coming into the shop before they would be aware of the meeting – since her hearing was so good, and her orders would be silent for the most part. Settling herself on a plastic milk–crate, Mioda focused, and then sent out a message to the three brainwashed, ordering them to come to her.

She waited for perhaps ten minutes, but Tsumiki didn't show up. Perhaps it was the distance, or perhaps she had slipped out of Mioda's control again, the guitarist didn't know which – but Souda and Hinata came, and that was a relief. Under other circumstances, Mioda might have gone out to search for the nurse, but her time was limited, and besides – she only needed two people for tonight, and the boys, would be more effective in stopping Togami than Tsumiki might have been. Skinny as they were in comparison to the heir, if they both charged Togami at the same moment, they'd surely have _some _sort of impact.

However, they had to _move _at the same moment; a second delayed in one of the attacks could make all the difference, much as a second delayed in a song could make all the difference. But, perched atop that flimsy milk–crate, watching the two boys, Mioda was starting to have her doubts as to whether they'd be able to move at the same time – or heck, if one of them would even obey her orders properly. They stood before her, waiting for their new orders – and that was _something, _but there similarities ended. Souda stood as though he were a tin soldier, chin up, arms by his sides, eyes glazed, but Hinata stood in a fairly typical slouch, his hands in his pockets as he tried to find something interesting to look at on the floor.

_Uh, _Mioda began – ordering the brainwashed about always felt strange, but it felt even stranger when one of them looked so uncomfortable – _um, so here's what Kazuichi–chan and Hajime–chan should do tonight. See–_

"What is it _now?_" Hinata slurred, though his voice was dripping enough sarcasm to make Mioda openly flinch. "Yet another near–death experience?"

_More of a prevent–death experience, Hajime–chan!_

"Ah… So it _is_ a near–death experience, then. I swear, this voice isn't very good at ensuring our survival." Hinata glanced over at Souda in a search for some sort of approval, looked away, then did a double–take; Mioda could feel his mind trying to startle itself awake with the sight of the mechanic. It wasn't struggling _against_ Mioda's control just yet – it wasn't aware that it was under it in the first place – but it was enough to make the guitarist feel uneasy. "H–hey… What's wrong with him?" Hinata began, but that was about as far as he got into thinking anything was off.

_Um… Nothing's wrong with Kazuichi–chan. That's pretty normal, actually._

"You have a strange sense of _normal_, oh voice. Also – are you guys hearing all this too, or am I still asleep?"

_Please, Hajime–chan – just stand there like Kazuichi–chan, look pretty, and listen._

Hinata frowned at that one, and Mioda could feel his mind – not _resisting_, just stalling for time, trying to figure out what was going on. It was useless, she knew – like trying to work out what two and two was if you had no understanding of numbers – but it was a simple approach, and it made Mioda nervous.

"But Kazuic– _Souda_ doesn't look pretty. He looks… kind of uncomfortable, actually?"

Mioda fidgeted on her crate; perhaps causing Hinata to forget about everything from last night hadn't been the_ best _of ideas. He'd gone and invented some sort of fantasy to explain the voice in his head, and now he was openly arguing with it; that couldn't be good for his sanity, and it was wearing on the guitarist's patience. Really, if she'd known he was going to be _this _much trouble, she wouldn't have ordered him here in the first place – at this rate, he'd be a liability.

_It's comfy. Promise._

"I–I'm sure it isn't comfy! He's _drooling!_"

Mioda groaned out loud, rubbing at her temples; his constant, irritable objections were beginning to make her head hurt. She was apparently going to have to use some other way to get Hinata to help, but she didn't have the _time_ to think up a decent excuse to fool him with, or even a half–decent one. She considered explaining the whole situation, how it was life–or–death and all that sort of thing, and get his consent that way, but – if Hinata suddenly became aware of everything, he'd either lunge at her or run away screaming, and neither option seemed that appealing. The guitarist seriously doubted Souda could hold Hinata back, either; it'd hurt one or both of them at best and wake up the mechanic at worst.

And so, in typical Mioda fashion, she went for the worst option of the lot.

_Voices in his head, thinking that Kazuichi–chan's drooling – Hajime–chan sure has a vivid imagination, doesn't he?_

"It's only one voice. And– I'm _sure _that Souda's drooling! I wouldn't have said it otherw–"

The guitarist leaned in, putting enough force into her thoughts to make him choke on the rest of his words. Not a pretty sight, but it meant that she was able to deliver her final gambit to a relatively quiet audience member.

_Hajime–chan's just making everything up. _

"Ah… I see. All in my head. Somehow."

He believed it because Mioda had said it, and she could feel his will fading away almost immediately. Despite the headache, it wouldn't be much longer before she would finally have gotten him under control, for a little while at least. That said – she felt bad, and would have felt worse if she hadn't been doing it to save a life; it was a necessary step to protect the others.

"I'll let you go later, okay?" she whispered, and Hinata nodded, just a little. "Ibuki's truly sorry. But… When all of this is over, I'll – _she'll _let them both go. Not that Ibuki knows how to, but she's sure she'll figure it out–!"

She stopped – what was the point in talking now? They couldn't hear her; they probably wouldn't even_ remember_ what Mioda had done when it was all over. She needed to get to work, not sit around promising things she wasn't sure she could keep later on. Tonight, she needed to stop Togami from doing whatever he planned; she couldn't think about other things – not right now.

* * *

However, there was someone who thought about things, and thought about them a great deal. And now, since _everything_ was in his head, Hajime Hinata was able to think about things very, very much indeed. He was on a hoverboard, cruising through a tunnel of neon crystal (bright lines, sharp edges, invisible floors), and he thought about things. Questions existed as split paths here, and he was to pick the path containing the best answer – not that he could see the question itself, or the answers for that matter, but he would always know if he was _right _or _wrong_ in his choice afterwards, and that was all that really mattered. Little by little, step by little step, he would eventually answer every question correctly, and then he would figure out what was going on.

_Why do you want to know what's going on?_

Hinata braked at that, putting his back foot down so that the backside dragged against the crystal floor with a shower of rainbow sparks. That, right there, was a thought that wasn't his, or at least was not the thought of the Hajime Hinata on the hoverboard. It couldn't be one of the questions, either – for one thing, he'd never heard any of them until now, and for another, there was no fork in the path he was currently on. It couldn't be someone other than himself, however – logically speaking, he was completely in the confines of his own head right now. So – it had to be himself, and yet it couldn't possibly be himself, and that is why he frowned.

_Your own head isn't a private void. It's a public object, which can be accessed by an admin with the relevant– Ah. No, that's too confusing. You know what? Blame aliens. Or magic. Or – maybe even magic aliens. They're around, y'know! They took my hamburger, this one time. Not all of it – just the beef parts._

Magic. Right. Well, since everything was in his head at present, something as illogical as magic was a distinct possibility. It was almost _reasonable_, in fact, given that Hinata was gliding on a hoverboard through an electric, shimmering, rainbow world; not unlike an acid trip, really. So – this was somehow a magician, possibly an alien magician, chattering away in his head for some reason. Apparently, this person had also had a run–in with other aliens and their possibly–magical burgers – no, no, that was too many maybes and possibilities all at once, and the walls were too thin, he was smashing through them all without meaning to and–

Darkness, and a shuffling of papers.

_Sorry, man. Things were getting kind of... trippy, there. And I need you to see a few things while you're still sane. I need someone to get everyone to this one endgame, and it's easiest to access you and that other person without screwing up anything. Okay? Okay. Here's something to look at, just lemme search for this stuff. Um... Hmmm..._

Stars flew past Hinata, or at least – white, square specks in otherwise completely black void. He stayed steady on his hoverboard, and that was _something_, but – he definitely wasn't in the space of his own head anymore. Yes, he was still flying, still on the hoverboard, but he was _also_ remembering things he shouldn't have remembered, things that definitely weren't his to remember. He remembered the first time he'd held a sword, and had smacked Kuzuryuu in the head with a rather enthusiastic swing, and he remembered the day he'd won the lottery due to being kidnapped by a serial killer–

_Tum, tum–tee–tum... where did I put the stuff... maybe–? No, that's my coffee... um... H–hey! Stop looking at the files! They might – I dunno, bite you or something! They're not exactly user-friendly things!_

But Hinata didn't know how to stop– the hoverboard drifted ever onwards, ever forwards, and he found himself remembering more and more. It wasn't just the defining moments, either – every single, insignificant little thing his classmates has ever done was rushing into his head, and it was starting to really _hurt_.

_Shi– no, no, nonononono–! I–if you hit the loops, you're gonna completely flip_–_! N–no, I've... I've g__–g__otta stay calm. Um, um – I think I kind of lost the backup stick under the cupboard, so I'm cutting to the live feed, okay? Just... sit there, and watch that. No going through the files while I'm away, okay? Good. Great. Catch you later._

* * *

"So, you lost them."

Hinata blinks – no, he's no longer in the starfield, and he's not on a hoverboard, and for a moment he wonders if he's woken up, but – no, no, he's just staring at a bright, bright screen, that so happens to show a picture of Nanami's room. He is sitting in a wheelie chair, at a long desk in a dark office; his hands are not tied, but his ankles have been shackled to the floor with a generous length of chain. And he looks at the screen again, and notices the little red light that blinks occasionally, and how grainy the footage is, how tinny the voices are and how dull the colours seem to be; he is watching a camera feed, perhaps even a live feed like that thing–that–was–him–and–not–him mentioned.

In his dozy, only semi–conscious state, he actually accepts all of this as just being another figment of his imagination. And it can't be real, anyway – because on the screen, Nanami's _agitated_; she's pacing the floor of her cabin, biting her lip, flicking her hood up and down and up again. As she gathers her thoughts, she gives the rabbit in her room a long, hard stare, then shakes her head in disbelief. "You lost the game manuals", she says, with more sharpness in her voice than Hinata would ever have expected from her. "That's kind of all we had left!"

Monomi of all people is hopping up and down on the girl's bed; Hinata has no idea why that is, or why Nanami is bothering to talk to her. "I–I couldn't hwelp it! They were here when everything restarted, all twucked up in my pwetty pwink spwarkles chest, and then suddenly– _poof!_ Sha–bam! The whole collection's gone! All my books–!"

"That's bad. That's really, really bad… I think."

"I–it's worse than bad! Even worse than rweally, _rweally_ bad! Way, wayyy worse!" Monomi's little arms wave in a decidedly grand gesture, and Nanami stops pacing for a moment, considering this. Yes - she's actually considering something Monomi is saying. This is _ludicrous._

"For it to be that bad… Monobear's taken them, hasn't he?"

"N–no – they were stolen by someone else!"

Frowning almost as much as Hinata is (though presumably not because she's confused out of her mind right now), Nanami goes over to the bed to sit next to the rabbit. "Someone on this island–? That… no, that shouldn't be possible. I don't think it should be possible, anyway."

"As the ever–hopeful teacher, I don't like to doubt my pwecious students, I really don't. I didn't even read their minds too much. But… If Monobear had them, that wouldn't be good. He'd have brainwashed them into despair… He'd have set up motives deliberately engineered to take advantage of them… A–actually, that's _exactly_ what happened last time! Gosh, he must have had the manuals! How howwifying!"

"Hmmm... Anyway, if someone has them, then I think I know exactly where to start looking for those manuals. I mean, if you think about it logically –"

"A–ahhh, you've found a lead alweady? Rweally, truly?! You've always been my vewy favourite student!"

Nanami smiles. "Yes… Yes, I've always known."

His confusion has finally reached a point where he just can't take any more of it - and so, Hinata turns his attention away from the screen, with a sigh of relief as it goes dark. He tries to look about the room, but almost immediately his attention is caught by another screen, perhaps two metres to his left – is that a grainy picture of his one friend on the island? _Sweet_ – if this is a live feed, Komaeda must be having a pretty reasonable conversation right now. It is with some difficulty that Hinata pushes off the desk in front of him and scoots over to the little screen, using the wheelie chair as an impromptu method of transport, but he manages it, and he watches, eager to see what his friend is up to.

_Click, click, click._

Hinata frowns, leaning towards the screen. Perhaps something is wrong with the camera, for it to be clicking like that? Yes, something _must _be wrong here. He's sure that maintenance will be around soon enough.

"Ahh… I suppose it is over. And here I was, thinking I might see a battle of hopes here. How foolish, to pin myself against myself – a Fool's Mate was all that could come of it. Fitting."

_Click, click, click _– no, there's nothing wrong with the camera. It's just a pawn clacking against the board, as Komaeda toys with it – a piece as white and polished as his teeth, almost as ominous as his smile – the one he aims at the shadow in the doorway. It shudders, it looks away, and the pale boy laughs.

"Yes, yes… There really is no way out. The king – the leader – has been pinned behind the bodies of his subjects, and has nowhere left to run… Not even the brightest of hopes could save this terrifying situation. A good thing that it's just a game." He pauses to take a breath, then tilts his head with a smile. "And yet, it is not so different to the one we play now."

_Click, click, click._

Whoever Komaeda is addressing doesn't speak; but Hinata sees them shiver, and he's damned sure that they're wishing that they had never come to check on him.

_Click, click, click._

The shadow inclines itself, but no words are spoken. Hinata wants to yell something, what Komaeda's said is starting to sink in – but doesn't know what to say to any of it. Is there anything he _can _say? And so, there is only an awkward silence, broken when Komaeda tries again:

"Do you understand, or is my language too common for one such as yourself? If I am the fool, then you must be the king – the ruler, the one central to this game. Pinned like this… It is not my business to know, of course, but I must wonder what you will do! To live, will you sacrifice two, or five of your little subjects? Or, perhaps you will flip the board, creating your own hope! That would be something to see, my lord – a hope bright enough to carry you to freedom, though of course not so much as a pawn would be left behind! Ahhh, what a sight…"

_Click, click, click._

And yet, Hinata is still silent, trying to figure out why _Komaeda_ of all people is saying these awful, awful things. God, his own must be so messed up, to be making all of this up – and yet, it _must _be making it all up, since there's just no way Hinata's friend would be doing this, encouraging Whoever It Is to murder. He wants to turn his wheelie–chair and scoot far, far away from this false, horrible thing masquerading as what's actually going on in real–time, but for some sick reason, he stays, just to see how it will all end. Perhaps Komaeda is just... joking? He must be... Yes, he must be.

There is another pause, another careful, hesitant breath, and then Komaeda goes on: "But, what would I know? I am the fool. I have my own ideas, my own agenda… My own plans, however foolish they are. "

"_What_ plans?" The words are out before the person can stop themselves, and they know it; there is a sharp gasp, and Komaeda's smile is wider.

"Oh… I think they might be far too foolish your most esteemed ears. Suffice to say that I want the darkest despair to be the backdrop for our bright, shining hopes, so they will be even brighter!" _Click, click, click, _goes the pawn against the board, and there can be no doubt – Komaeda is the one who thinks he's fool enough to do something truly awful, the one who truly is fool enough to do it. And yet, there _is _doubt, and oh–so–much doubt, because Komaeda doing anything like this is... terrifying. Not _impossible_, and there is the true fear that's making Hinata's heart bang hard in his ears, his breathing loud and shallow.

It has to be impossible. This can't be a live feed, it just can't be–!

"And what is any of what you just said supposed to mean?"

"I just want the game to start", Komaeda says, and stands, and then Hinata _knows _that none of this can be at all real, for he reaches into the air and slowly pulls out a knife; a small fruit–knife, with a gaudy handle of red and blue plastic. There is a sharp, grating sound as he takes it from nowhere; as though it is coming out of some rusted, yet apparently invisible sheath. "And it is about to begin. I can hardly wait!"

And he smiles – he glances up at the camera as though he _knows_ Hinata's there, and he taps the point of his blade against the metal shelving. _Click, click, click_ – Hinata tries to scoot back from the screen, but he _can't. _He takes a breath; tells himself that he's not moving merely because he has no reason to. Even in this weird, awful nightmare, Komaeda isn't dangerous. If he really _is_ just a fool, he's not going to do a thing – and he's not doing a thing right now, is he? He's not coming towards the person standing frozen behind Hinata – he's just smiling, and tapping the shelves with that knife, that's all he's doing. And speaking of that, he didn't _really_ pull it out of empty space – he just… did a little sleight of hand or something, and now he's tapping away with it, as though it will unnerve the two them. It shouldn't unnerve Hinata. It won't unnerve him.

_Click, click, click…_

And yet, he is afraid that this might just be real.

_Okay, I've officially lost the stick _– _long story, don't make me go into it. So – I'm gonna have to do this manually, which means I, uh, have to read all these really hard–to–follow instructions. Just chill out there _– _I'm gonna open up all the live feeds except yours and that other person's, 'cos we can't track you guys right now, and it'd be a bit disturbing for you to see yourselves right now. Seriously, you look completely possessed _–_ freaky enough for even me to stop watching you two. Anyway, hopefully this won't take too long _–_ but it'll be fine. Hopefully._

Fourteen screens light up, and he knows he should watch them, but he can't bring himself to do it – and so Hajime Hinata buries his face in his hands, and cries.


	11. Chapter Ten: Declaration of Insolence

As the party drew nearer, so did Koizumi draw her blankets about herself, trying to think. Emphasis on the _trying_, because that definitely wasn't easy. She hadn't been able to stop herself from taking pity on Tsumiki and un–brainwashing her practically as soon as she was in the nurse's cabin – but now she had to put up with that constant worrying in the back of her mind, as well as Nidai's hourly thumping on the door to check in on the two of them ("Has she eaten yet? She absolutely _must _eat! What about push–ups? Has she– what do you _mean_, 'no'?"). However – she desperately needed to think things out; everyone's lives were on the line tonight.

_Why would Togami think something like that, anyway?_

That was the biggest question she had about the whole thing, in all honestly. After all – just because Togami had _thought _it didn't mean he meant it, did he? Perhaps as the mastermind, he intended to throw Koizumi off the trail, by making her think that he intended to kill someone. When, in fact, he intended to… _what?_ What else could he be doing?

She took a breath, and tried again. What else _could _Togami do? Well, aside from killing someone, he was capable of… cleaning? Leading? Eating? Why would he be trying to distract her from any of that? No, no – it must have had something to do with his ability. He could make anyone do what he said, so…

_If he makes one of them do it, while Mioda and I are busy watching him–_

_Oh, no._

That had to be it. Togami wasn't the threat, but he had _pretended _to be; thinking that one little thing so that Koizumi would try to watch him and not the brainwashed. Those people would go behind her back, kill someone, then of course Togami would take the blame, since he had brainwashed them.

_Nice try, but it's not going to work!_

She knew what she had to do, then: Find the brainwashed while Togami was busy in the lodge, and un–brainwash them just before the party. They then wouldn't be able to react to the heir's orders, and so everyone would be safe. Koizumi smirked at the thought, moving to sit up against her pillows. Thanks to her, this party would be _perfect_ – one last good time, before the punishment at the end of tomorrow–

And then the door fell over. Literally – it came straight off its hinges, and ended up flat on the floor. Tsumiki sprang back with a shriek, and though she still kind of fell over somewhere in the middle of that, the door just barely missed her.

"Ah, sorry about that!" Owari grinned, stepping lightly over the door she'd just kicked over. "Figured I might as well knock for once."

Tsumiki whimpered and backed away from the gymnast, shaking her head. "P–please don't do it again–! U–um, unless you really want to… Oh, I'm so s–sorry f–for saying all of that–! i–I don't mean to be b–bossy…"

"Spare me", Owari replied, cocking her head to the side. "So, where's the get–well–soon cake? Y'know, since Hanamura's been cooking up a storm in the lodge, I woulda thought that he'd make one…"

"You came for _cake?_" Koizumi asked. "That guy's been cooking all day for the party!"

"Well, why's one measly little party taking him so long? C'mon, I'd have thought that for a Super–High–School–Level Chef, a four–course meal for sixteen people with a complimentary buffet would be a snap!"

"Are you kidding? " the photographer began, fully intending to launch into a full–on rant on just how hard that would actually be for just one person, but then Tsumiki made a nervous little noise, wringing her hands.

"S–so, um… A–about the party. I–I was hoping you could m–maybe–? "

"Ohhhh, that's right! Yeah – actually, I came to get you two. Togami's refusing to let anyone in until everyone's at the door, and that food's not gonna eat itself!"

"W–well… Um, Koizumi's not really well enough to be standing there for the whole party, a–and I should be watching over her, so we should really stay here – um, I mean, if that's okay…"

"Nah, he said _everyone._" Owari glanced left and right before continuing. "Don't you have… I dunno, a wheelchair or something?"

"I'm not going in a wheelchair!" Koizumi protested, trying to get out of bed; only to be restrained by Tsumiki's hand on her chest. At any other time, the concerned thoughts in the nurse's head might have been somewhat soothing, but here they were only frustrating her – if she wanted to do anything, the photographer _needed _to go to the party on her two legs. "I can stand perfectly fine, let me up_–_"

"N–no, you've done quite enough running for today. I–I'm not having you get hurt! A–and... Um, I don't have a wheelchair here, either, so…"

"Look", Owari began, leaning against the very–much–empty doorframe. "Seriously, just put her in something with wheels. I dunno – a pram or a sled or something, I don't care–"

"A–a _pram?!_" Koizumi spluttered, looking Owari in the eye and – thanks to the whole mind–reading thing – realizing that she was absolutely serious about that one. "No way. I'd rather be dead than do that!"

"W–well… Um, at least it has wheels, which i–is a little better than the sled…"

The photographer let out something like a growl, fighting against Tsumiki's grip. "I'm notgoing in a pram, _or_ a sled! I'm going to walk there, right now–"

Her words were choked off by Owari's deciding to help the nurse hold her down, albeit with far more force than should have been necessary. Koizumi probably should have expected it when Owari took that run–up in her peripheral vision – and yet she was somehow surprised by the gymnast's graceful leap onto her chest. Had it not been for the mattress, she was sure that bones would have been broken, for Owari all but dived at her, elbowing the nurse out of the way as she did so. As it was, Koizumi was driven hard into the mattress; several springs made a very unusual noise indeed, and she winced at that.

Owari, on the other hand, seemed quite comfortable balancing on the photographer, with her feet just above Koizumi's ribs, her hands on the photographer's chest, and the rest of her crouched over Koizumi like some sort of bizarre gargoyle. "Nailed it!" she declared proudly, and there was a high–pitched noise of worry behind her; not that the photographer could see its owner with Owari in the way, but Tsumiki's thoughts were going fast enough for her to have made that noise.

"W–why are you–?!" the photographer wheezed; it wasn't easy to talk with Owari on top of her, but she made a pretty decent attempt. Not that she needed to – with the gymnast in such close proximity, the contents of her mind were being all but shoved into Koizumi's brain. It seemed that Owari had memorized every single dish Hanamura had told Togami about at the meeting that morning; and now she could just about _taste_ them.

"Me?" The gymnast wiped her mouth with the back of her hand – _was she drooling? _– and went on: "I just wanna eat my food in peace. If that means I've gotta stuff you in a pram, I'll do it. And about that– Hey, Tsumiki! Have you got something with wheels yet?"

The nurse's voice came from somewhere to Koizumi's left; Tsumiki must have stayed where Owari had elbowed her. "N–no… Um… P–please don't hate me–!"

"It's fine, just hurry up. I'm _hungry._"

"Y–yes, of c–course! Wh–whatever you want!" Tsumiki whimpered, all but tripping over her own feet as she rushed out the door.

Some minutes were spent lying in awkward silence – then, as realization dawned that the gymnast wasn't about to get off her any time soon, Koizumi made a half–hearted attempt to roll out from under her attacker. Unsurprisingly, it wasn't successful. Being a tall, strong athlete, Owari was far heavier than the photographer was – all it took was for the gymnast to shift her position slightly, gripping Koizumi's shoulders, and the girl was pinned down again. "Look, just… Just get off me", the photographer gasped, adding after a moment's pause: "Please? "

"Nah, I just got on", she replied. "Plus, it's pretty comfortable here, so–"

"W–well, it's not comfortable for me!" Koizumi hissed between her teeth, wriggling her arms out from behind her sides in order to fold them in front of her chest. She admittedly regretted the action, given that it resulted in Owari's considerable bust resting on her forearms, but it was a small price to pay for looking as stubborn as she possibly could. "And besides, i–if someone looks in… Come on, you _know_ what it looks like."

The gymnast blinked, rocking back on her heels; Koizumi winced at the painful movement, wincing again as Owari racked her brain for everything 'it' could look like. As it was, she came up with mostly Hanamura–related incidents, stuff about meat and the suchlike – and from there, it was all back to food. "Ehhhh, can't say I do. And even if I did know – hey, who cares what it looks like?"

The photographer was about to say something rather rude about Owari's care for life in general, when the two of them were interrupted by a squeaking of rusty wheels, and a loud rattling noise. "U–um…" came a small, quavering voice, and never before had Koizumi been so glad to hear it. "I–I… I found this outside the supermarket… W–will it be all right?"

Tsumiki's mind whimpered something about how she was _sure _that position wasn't good for anyone, she heard the nurse take a hesitant step forwards – and Owari rolled off the photographer with ease, grabbing Koizumi's arm with a cheery smile. "Okay, c'mon! We've got to get at that food before Togami eats it all himself!"

"Wait a minute! Tsumiki, what did you _get?_" the photographer asked, as she was dragged forwards, stumbling over the fallen door and out into the night, blinking at the sudden change in lighting.

"In you go!"

"Oh, no, no, _no–_"

* * *

"Mmmmmh… Ibuki's been waiting for a whole six hundred seconds now! C'mon, c'mooon… Do we _have _to wait for Akane–chan and Mikan–chan _and _Mahiru–chan! That's three chans too many, Byakuya–chaaaaan! A–and now it might even be _that–chan…_"

Togami looked out at the cabins from his position in the lodge's doorway, pushing back his glasses on his nose as though that might somehow help, and all Mioda wanted to do was brainwash him into letting her and the rest inside. Not that the island was unpleasantly cold at night, but – the smells coming from within were tantalizing to say the least. She could hear the others talking about how good the food smelled, even caught the rumble of someone's stomach – there could be something like a mutiny, if Togami didn't let them all in soon.

_If we were just alone, Ibuki'd brainwash Byakuya–chan… And then not only could she eat, she'd be able to stop him from killing someone! Uh – if he's planning on that, of course._

"Tch… They will be here soon, I am sure. Koizumi, after all, is injured. I imagine that her transport will take some ti–"

"Hey! Listen!" the guitarist yelled, and there was absolute quiet – both from Togami, and from the others behind her. She listened hard, and heard it – a soft, ominous rumbling from somewhere in the distance. It sounded almost like distant thunder, but that couldn't be right; there had been nothing but sunshine all day, after all.

"That's funny", Nanami said, tilting her head. "I… I think I've heard that phrase before. Isn't it–"

"Shhhhh!" Ibuki hushed her, and once again there was qui–

_rrrrrrrrrrRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRCHCHTTCHCCTCCAKAKAKAKAKAKAKAKAKAAAAAAAAAAA–_

"AIAIIIIIEIIEIEIEIEIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

Just like that, the low rumbling had become a distinctly female scream, accompanied by a rattling and a clanking like no other Mioda had heard before. Out of the darkness and into the light spilling out of the old lodge came a large, metallic cage of some sort, and it came at very high speed, scattering all of those waiting around the lodge's edge–

–all, that is, but one.

"I… WIIIIIIILL… STOP… YOOOOOOOOUUUUUU!" Nidai howled, and just before the whatever–it–was hit him, he'd braced for the impact. Since she was the closest to him, having backed up the lodge steps and into Togami's arms, Mioda screeched her very loudest and covered her eyes for good measure, but there was no agonizing scream or liquid splattered all over the guitarist; not even any witty commentary from Monobear. It was with great hesitation that she opened one eye…

….and nearly burst out laughing. In fact, she would most definitely have laughed, if not for the furious look Koizumi gave her. The photographer, as it happened, had been crammed into a shopping trolley of all things; and a shopping trolley filled with a mess of pillows and blankets at that.

"_Thank you _, Nidai", she tutted, even as Owari and Tsumiki ran up behind her, both of them trying to explain that it was quite clearly the other's fault the trolley had gone so fast, and the nurse rearranging the pillows under Koizumi, covering the floor of the trolley so she wouldn't end up hurting herself on the metal bars. As they did so, Mioda nudged Togami with her elbow.

"Sooooo… Ibuki knows Nagito–chan and Teruteru–chan aren't here yet, buuuuut can maybe Ibuki an' Akane–chan an' Mahiru–chan an' Kazuichi–chan an' Gundam–chan an'–"

" Hanamura and Komaeda have been at their posts since breakfast today. Thus, you may all enter – one at a time, however. I will be checking each of you thoroughly. I will not have anything going astray tonight." He pointed behind her. "Get in line."

Mioda blinked, shuffling back to join Koizumi. Surprisingly, she was able to take the handle of the trolley and guide it into the slowly forming line at the lodge's door – Nidai was roaring at Owari, while Tsumiki cowered behind the gymnast. "Hey, Mahiru–chan", she began, trying to sound as casual as she could. "Um – so, aside from her shopping trolley related incident, was there anything... y'know, that she found out?"

"You're _really_ bad at this", Koizumi murmured, then shook her head, barely raising her voice. "I… I think we're going to need to watch more than one person tonight, or the food'll be all gone before we know it."

"The food–? Wh–what's the food got to do with–"

"Shhh." With some effort, Koizumi managed to turn around in the shopping trolley, grabbing Mioda by the scarf and pulling her down in order to whisper: "He's got accomplices."

"Ibuki's got really good hearing, y'know! Mahiru–chan doesn't need to pull her so close" the guitarist replied, straightening and glancing about herself – the others hadn't noticed them, it seemed. Owari and Nidai were shouting at each other, Tsumiki still cowering, and the rest were watching Togami and Souda's vehement argument over whether or not Sonia should be able to bring her traditional Novoselic sauce bottle into the party.

"All these gems, all this metal– I can't allow it!" the heir declared, snatching Souda's wrench when the mechanic tried to wave it in his face. "And I am _certainly_ not allowing that!"

"All I'm sayin' is, Miss Sonia should be allowed to– _hey_, give that back! It's a tool, not a weapon!"

"It has potential."

"Please, stop!" Sonia called, moving from behind Souda to face the heir herself. "Togami – I would not have brought the bottle if I had known it was going to cause so much trouble. However, I do not believe it is a weapon… I merely intended for it to be a taste of Novoselic culture. I visited Hanamura in the lodge earlier; he told me that it would be fine to bring this. Is taking variety to your party truly such a crime?"

"Me too!" Souda added. "My wrench has a very deep cultural meaning to me, I'll have you know–!"

It wasn't like that line made much sense in itself, but nevertheless Mioda was rather proud of Souda's act. She'd worked hard throughout the afternoon to make _sure _he and Hinata appeared to be anything but suspicious. They really needed the surprise element to take Togami down, for one thing - and for another, it was much more comfortable for her when they appeared to be quite normal, despite being wholly under her sway. Not that she liked ordering them around in the first place - when this was all over, she'd find some way to bring them back to normal as soon as possible.

"Mioda," Koizumi said under her breath, turning back around to rest her elbows on the front of the trolley, "We're still following him, okay? The accomplice thing is only a hunch, really. At this rate, he's not going to need one, if no–one's got a weapon."

"But… Byakuya–chan won't have one either, will he?"

Koizumi shook her head, pointing instead towards Togami – who was currently locking Souda's wrench inside a large metal case. "He's going to have _all _the weapons."

"Ooooh, that's totally unfair!"

"What's unfair?" asked Togami, lifting a brow, and Mioda let out a choked noise, wishing yet again that she could just brainwash him into not doing whatever he was intent on doing.

_But, I can't… Not with Mahiru–chan watching, definitely not with everyone else…_

"Ibuki was just thinking how unfair it is that Nagito–chan and Pekoyama–chan are in there already, probably eating all the food?"

"You're really, _really_ bad at this" Koizumi muttered, only to let out a similarly undignified noise to Mioda's when the latter decided to charge forwards with the trolley, the momentum carrying them up the low steps and straight towards the heir in the doorway. "H–hey! Stop that! You're cutting the lin– hey, look out, we're gonna crash–!"

"Don't worry, Ibuki's raced shopping trolleys heaps of times!" It wasn't a Super–High–School–Level act, no, but the guitarist managed to jerk back on the handle, dig her heels into the creaky wooden floor, and so it was that the two of them skidded to a halt inches from Togami's feet. "_Anyway_, Ibuki's next! And Mahiru–chan, of course."

The heir sighed, looking the trolley up and down. "Must we bring that… _item_… into my party?"

"Well, of course not! I can walk perfectly fine–"

"N–no you c–can't!" Tsumiki all but sobbed, racing up the stairs behind them. "Um… I–I'm really sorry, it must be all my fault for not caring enough, but you're not well enough to be walking."

"I'm totally well enough! I was walking just fine this morning, wasn't I?"

"Y–you did–?" Tsumiki blinked, all wide–eyed surprise – and, by the way, _completely _ignoring Mioda's orders to relent and let the photographer out of the shopping trolley. The guitarist frowned a little – it seemed that Hinata wasn't the only brainwashed person she would need to keep an eye on. Not that she needed to keep much of an eye on Hinata right now - he'd been rather well-behaved throughout today, almost as easy to control as Souda had been. Had her little attempt at making him believe everything was in his head - had that _actually worked? _If it had, then she was definitely going to need to use it on the others; it could really save her rather a lot of trouble later on.

"Th–then that's why it's become so much worse today! Over-exerting yourself isn't good a–at all!" Tsumiki's words interrupted her thoughts, making the guitarist blink and shake her head - she had a lot more to worry about than how to control people right now. But, before she could retaliate with a few choice words-

"Hmmm… Well, regardless of the necessity, I am of the opinion that the trolley will surely be weaponized, should it fall into the wrong hands. Mioda's handling and… well, the handling of _whichever _person was responsible for that incident – both nearly caused terrible accidents. Therefore, I will take it upon myself to guard the trolley."

"Byakuya–chan's gonna _what?!_" Mioda spluttered, and Koizumi made a similar noise. If Togami _was_ planning to kill someone, having a witness right there the whole time didn't make any sense at all! What on earth was he trying to do, by making sure that he'd have a witness? Was he, perhaps, not going to kill anyone? Had he somehow told Koizumi something that the latter had misunderstood? Or… Was he going to _use_ the fact that whenever he was ready to make his move, she would always be right next to him, half–trapped in a steel box of sorts? In fact, the more Ibuki thought about it – if Togami kept the trolley, then the only person who knew about his threat would be close to him – _helpless, _and of course, she was already going to be punished with the other four tomorrow if no–one else died before she went. And Togami, he'd have all the weapons well within his reach…

_Oh… Oh, no, no, no, no, no. Nope, nada, nil, nah, nooooo, n–o–p–e. Not happening!_

"I have already explained", Togami harrumphed, running his hands briefly through the contents of the shopping trolley, before moving past to where Mioda stood at its handle. He gave her a cursory look over, ruffled her scarf, checked under her collar, then shrugged. "You may both enter. I will soon follow, to take charge of the item."

The guitarist hesitated, deciding to follow through with her very best pleading–puppy–look. "Soooo, can Ibuki maybe, stay with Marihu–chan? She was having a really great silent conversation…" Mioda trailed off at the stare Togami was giving her – it was hard for even a chatterbox like to keep that sort of thing up under the pressure of such a calculating stare. There was relative quiet for a moment, then the guitarist decided to try and change the topic: "Uh… Does Ibuki have something on her nose?"

"You are really, really, _really_ bad at this", Koizumi mumbled, and Mioda did an excellent job of pretending not to hear that.

"No… It's nothing. Do what you please", the heir declared, turning away from her in order to inspect Tsumiki. "To me, it does not matter, so long as the trolley is not turned into a weapon. Now, go inside."

And so it was that with a squeaking of wheels and a heart very heavy indeed, Mioda pushed the shopping trolley into the old lodge.


	12. Chapter Eleven: Gone

From her position in the shopping trolley, Koizumi scowled up at the young heir – who stared straight back, until she was forced to look away. Irritated by the submissive gesture, she promptly folded her arms, closing her eyes for a long moment to try and block out Togami's thoughts – mostly repetitions of the opening speech for the party, as he carefully went over every last detail. They were a good twenty minutes into the party now, and yet there was still nothing related to the ominous thought he'd had earlier. But, Koizumi couldn't help but wonder if he was the mastermind, just hiding everything about his plans rather successfully from her. Maybe she could try to change his thought–path by talking to him; perhaps she could make him think about his horrible plans for the evening, but… Well, what was she supposed to say, without revealing her ability at all? What sort of talk would he want to hear, and not just dismiss as stupid chatter–?

"Koizumi. I asked you a question, and I am awaiting a response."

The photographer shook her head, trying to clear it as best she could – not an easy task, when Nidai's and Owari's own personal monologues were boring into her mind, mixing with the calm, collected thoughts of the guy who had apparently just asked her something. Togami's voice carried just a hint of irritation, though his expression was held perfectly neutral despite the sight of Sonia emerging from the kitchens in front of them with a plate of food. Not that this was anything odd, but Hanamura was following along behind, and appeared to be running an obnoxious inner commentary as he did so – a log of his 'mission' to see right up–

"_Koizumi._"

Dealing with the thoughts of so many people all at once was _hard_, she decided. It was a good thing Komaeda, Pekoyama, and Nanami were elsewhere in the lodge, whilst Kuzuryuu hadn't shown up to the party at all; she wasn't entirely sure that she'd have been able to take everyone's monologues for a good couple of hours' worth of party. Owari's constant chant of _Food! Food! Food! _was difficult enough to ignore on its own, let alone everything else. "Uh – sorry, I wasn't paying attention."

"So I gathered." Togami sniffed then, and somehow even that sounded dignified; almost cocky. "I shall repeat myself, just this time. I wished to enquire as to whether or not you were having a decent evening despite your… shall we say, _condition._"

"I've told you already, I'm fine!" Koizumi snapped, choosing to ignore the slight emphasis he'd placed on 'condition'. After all, the heir couldn't have possibly known that she was a mind–reader; there wasn't any way he could have known. He was just referring to the whole injury thing, right? "And if you'd let me out of this trolley, I'd be actually _enjoying_ the party–"

"It is not in your role to be mingling – just as it is not in mine."

The photographer's breath caught in her throat. Did he know her real role – as the mind–reader sent to completely mess up his evil plan? Had he somehow figured it out? She glanced up at him, trying to read his mind – but Togami's thoughts, as usual, revealed very little about any awful plans he might have had. Silence hung between them, expectant and yet awful; the heir waited with fraying patience for his reply, and the photographer sat there in the trolley, trying to think of one that wouldn't give her away, or make the situation any worse. What if Togami's line was a prelude to some triumphant gloating sequence, where he'd actually try to kill her at the end? If it was, she didn't want to accelerate the process. Let him gloat – she'd have plenty of time to get away if he did that.

"You _have_ a role?" she asked at last, and Togami harrumphed, pushing his glasses back on his nose.

"My role is to ensure the safety of all participating in my party", he said. "Due to that, I must observe and monitor the gathering, and any threats to it – such as this trolley."

"I see", Koizumi replied, though her mind was far away from what he'd just said. He hadn't revealed that he was the mastermind she knew him to be, so he wasn't about to confront her just yet. That was something of a relief, but – well, when _was _he going to make his move? Did he have a little killing game all set up, and was looking to add the final touches of irony to it? Was he perhaps still unsure about Koizumi being his enemy, and hoping that she might accidentally reveal her own nature through this conversation? Or was he perhaps trying to _distract_ her, while one of his puppets quietly made their way out of the area and did something truly awful?

That last thought made a horrible amount of sense; and so as they stood there in relative quiet, she looked back over at the party, watching them for a long moment. Everything appeared to be fine – there were no strong urges to kill anyone that she could sense – and yet, she felt uneasy. For all she knew, there _could_ be someone plotting a murder, and just keeping it quiet, their own thoughts slinking low under the clamor of the rest. It wasn't like she could make out every last thought in the tangled mess that was the rest of the group, after all - if someone was trying to hide something, she could have easily missed it. And of course, there were those whose minds she could not read, those who made her uneasy automatically. Mioda was hardly a threat, given that she was definitely on Koizumi's side, but – well, Souda and Hinata were still under the sway of the mastermind, and even if they weren't doing anything much right now, that didn't necessarily mean that they weren't going to do something later on.

Speaking of which – Souda caught her eye, waving to her before taking a glass of something bright orange off the table and striding over. How a gesture so innocent could be so terrifying was beyond her, and yet the photographer shrank back in the trolley. He handed her the drink, and it was all she could do to try and avoid his gaze. She'd have attempted to de–brainwash the mechanic right then and there, but she couldn't – not so long as she was in a party in front of everyone else, not so long as she was in the presence of the mastermind, who _just so_ _happened _to be standing right next to a box containing every possible weapon in the building.

_Damn… Togami, you're clever–!_

"Try this. It's, uh… A killer, I guess?" he drawled, as Koizumi eyed the glass with distaste. Coming straight from the brainwashed slave of an enemy who possibly suspected her already, the brightly–coloured concoction within was most likely poisoned – that'd be Togami's style as a cutthroat heir, after all. She guessed that the poison was likely in Hinata's hands right now, since he was trying to tiptoe his way to the door of the kitchen, casting furtive looks over at Koizumi's little group every now and then.

"C'mon", Souda was saying, tapping a finger against the glass – unusual for him to be pushing her to do anything, but then again, she guessed a brainwashed Souda wasn't really an in–character Souda. "Like I said, it's a real killer. I didn't think that Hanamura could make a decent cocktail with no alcohol, but – hey, whaddaya know. I'd murder for one of these back home, ya get me–?"

"That will be _enough_," Togami grated, glaring hard at his brainwashed slave. "Can we please not speak of death at my party? There will be plenty of it tomorrow, if that blasted bear has his way."

_But if I have my way, there'll be just one_, he added silently, and Koizumi froze, eyes wide. One thought could have been a throwaway, but two was more than enough for her. He was seriously planning to kill someone, then – but who? How? It was frustrating – she knew this much, and yet she knew _nothing. _Was he doing this deliberately, perhaps? Making sure she kept her eyes on him, while Hinata went and butchered someone–? No, that had to be impossible. As suspicious as the guy looked, tiptoeing for the door, it was just _too _suspicious. A decoy, surely.

"I–I wasn't talking about _death!_" Souda spluttered. "I was just sayin', the drink's great! It's a real ki– I mean, it's really, really great…?" He trailed off, flashing Togami a nervous smile, which was definitely not returned. "A–anyway. You should really try it."

"I'm not at all thirsty, but thanks anyway", the photographer grated out, setting cup on the floor of the trolley. That got her a raised eyebrow from Togami – and a second from Mioda, who seemed to have finally noticed the little meeting. She began by climbing up onto the nearest chair, then a series of rather bizarre gestures followed; gestures she promptly froze in the middle of making every time Togami tried to see what was going on. As he clicked his tongue at her, causing an attempt to balance on one leg with the other three limbs splayed in completely different directions from each other, Koizumi almost groaned out loud. At this point, she had been officially outwitted, outmaneuvered, _and_ outnumbered by the brainwasher, and her only real hope of making it out alive involved the aid of the girl trying to organize some sort of strange sign language with her from across the room.

_Note to self: Just because she's resistant, doesn't mean she's useful._

Togami snorted and shook his head, focusing his gaze on the floor – and just for a moment, Koizumi could almost pretend that they were on the same side, that she wasn't in the company of a mastermind, her enemy and – if she failed – a murderer to boot. He looked tired, fed up already with Mioda's bizarre behaviour, maybe even as fed up as Koizumi was; she almost felt a little for him.

"If she intends to distract me from my work, I assure you that no matter what she does, she will fail", the heir declared after a long moment, then stepped away from the trolley to stand protectively over the weapons box, his arms folded. Souda hadn't moved since his last line, and now appeared to be drooling a little; either his role in the attempt to poison Koizumi was over for now and he'd run out of orders, or he was just waiting to strangle the photographer as soon as it was convenient. She backed up in the trolley, crouching a little just in case it was the latter; not that she had much of a defense against a brainwashed Souda who likely felt no pain, but it felt a little better to be ready for him. Regardless of whether or not Mioda was actually trying to distract the mastermind, things definitely weren't looking good – in fact, Koizumi wasn't entirely sure that they could get any worse.

But, as they say, things can always get worse – and in this case, it was when the lights went out that things _really_ went downhill. The photographer blinked once at the sudden darkness, then again at the sudden lack of any thoughts from anyone else. Here, she was completely powerless – anything could happen in the dark, and she'd have no idea who had done what. There was a surprised grunt and a thud from right next to the trolley, then the sounds of a scuffle – was that Togami, Souda, or someone else entirely? Someone could be about to knife her, and she'd have no idea that it was about to happen.

And that was it, wasn't it? That had to be Togami's big, awful, master plan – to kill someone in the dark, where she'd be powerless to put a stop to it. The photographer gritted her teeth, crouching low in the trolley as the fight, struggle, murder attempt, or _whatever it was_ continued right next to her. Every part of her wanted to stop whatever was going on, but – well, what could she do? She was injured, stuck in a trolley she'd have a hard time getting out of without help, and depending on who the brawlers were, she may well not have any chance against them.

As far as she was concerned, there was no way things could get any w–

"AAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" said the darkness, and then it gurgled.

And with that, things had just gotten worse.

_Much _worse.

* * *

_"Help!"_

That was about when Mioda first realized that something was off. It wasn't when the lights went out, or when the screaming started – no, this was some minutes before all that.

_"Ghh…H–hey, someone help–!"_

It was a soft, distant cry, just barely audible over the general chatter of the party, but thanks to her brilliant hearing, Mioda picked it up. Seeing that Koizumi was still under the apparently murderous Togami's watch, she first sent Souda over to the photographer to give her a super secret message in his lines of dialogue, whilst Hinata sneaked towards the kitchen entrance in the very stealthiest way possible. However, Koizumi failed to get any of the message, which then led to Mioda's own, personal attempts to signal to the other girl that something was wrong. Or at least, that someone was staggering around outside the main party room, calling for help – the guitarist didn't think that was right, but then again she did think that shouting in libraries was right, too. So, she stood up on a chair – in a _very_ stealthy way, of course – and as the far–off voice coughed and weakened, she tried to tell Koizumi what was going on.

_"S–someone… Anyone at all–? Help?"_

Here, then, was where Mioda realized why so many spy stories ended horribly for everyone concerned. Koizumi could definitely have helped her out here, perhaps gone to check on the hallways, but – well, it wasn't Mioda's fault that her partner in crime apparently didn't know lifesaver arm signals, or airplane distress flag codes, or even regular sign language for _'I think someone just died out there!'_. Maybe Koizumi was brilliant at ciphers or something, but it wasn't like Mioda had paid that part of the whole spy thing much attention – hand signals were far faster and flashier, so she'd decided to memorize a heap of those.

And so it was that Mioda attempted just about every gesture she could think of over the next few minutes, with absolutely no success whatsoever. She was about to give up on the sign language, and perhaps try a secret handshake (or six, given how slow Koizumi seemed to be at this whole secret stuff thing – thankfully, since handshakes had the potential to be almost as flashy and violent as arm–waving, Mioda had memorized more than a few) – but that when there was a soft _beep_ from somewhere in the old lodge, and the lights went out.

Not that Mioda was all that worried by this; her hearing was good enough that she was able to continue maneuvering Hinata and Souda in the dark. For instance, she heard Togami's voice rise in concern, heard the latch of what she guessed to be the weapons box click open, and she directed the mechanic to leap straight at the guy, driving him back from any potential murder weapons. Togami staggered back into the wall with a heavy noise and a grunt, but Souda had his orders – to keep attacking Togami until he found one of those weak points all the game–bosses tended to have. Sure, the heir was a big guy; going off the noises, he managed to grab Souda and threw him to the ground. But it wasn't like Mioda had ever fought fairly, and that was why Hinata, having tripped over two tables in his haste to help his brainwashed buddy out, finally managed to jump the heir from behind, grappling with him in a blind attempt to try to find that weak spot.

_It's probably his glasses, or if the rating's really gone out the window, his–_

"AAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

At that, Mioda leaped off the chair she had been standing on, and charged. "_Hey!_ Only Ibuki's allowed to scream that loud!" she yelled. "That's the sort of thing that gets her kicked out libraries all the time!" And that, combined with the round of her running, was enough to get the others to rally. With a roar, Nidai went into a headlong rush in the general direction of the scream, Owari hot on his heels:

"CHAAAAAAAAAAARGE!"

"Hey, old man! Lemme get 'im! I'll show whoever did this not to interrupt my food ever again!"

"Please calm down, everyone–!" Sonia called out, but it was no use; Nidai slammed into a wall hard enough that the neighbouring walls trembled.

"Someone needs our help!" he yelled.

The guitarist grinned, continuing her own charge – which, yes, sent her plowing into Togami, because Mioda _never _fought fair. The heir staggered back with a growl, mumbling something about fencing, but she wasn't going to let him get away after he'd somehow gone and killed someone in the dark, and so she lunged, got both hands around his neck and shoved him back against the wall, then kicked him. He thrashed – who wouldn't, after taking a hit right where Mioda thought she'd gotten one in? – but it was useless when Souda and Hinata were around. Mioda sprang back from the flailing heir, willing the duo back into action. Hinata threw himself against Togami, pushing him back against the wall, then Souda punched the heir until after several attempts and a few mumbled apologies, he managed to clock the heir hard enough that Togami crumpled to the floor.

_Sorry, Byakuya–chan… But Ibuki'll never fight fair when it comes to evil masterminds. Not that Ibuki'd ever fight fair, but – well, it's **especially** unfair for Byakuya–chan! Ha!_

She'd have stayed to gloat some more, but Monomi was squawking something about fixing up the power, something about how this had better not happen again. As the door flew open, Mioda took a few hasty steps away from Togami, silently willing Souda and Hinata to flee themselves, to mingle with the others. They had only a few seconds to move – but when the lights flickered back on, it was good to see that neither of them were near Togami's unconscious form – Hinata was shifting from foot to foot in front of Monomi, and Souda was under a table with his hands over his ears. The guitarist didn't mind being seen leaning against Koizumi's trolley, out of breath – half the lodge would have heard her charge, after all, so it'd have made the most sense if she was still here.

"What is gwoing on here?!" Monomi yelled, turning in a slow circle. "I– I was _wowwied _about all of my pwecious stude– _gwaaaaaaaaaaaaah!_" And with that, she swooned at the sight of whatever was out in the hallway. Mioda figured that the impressive shriek was very fitting, given the impressive amount of jam splattered all over the walls (or at least, she hoped it was jam).

"Hey! Stupid pig bitch! Do your job!" That was Saionji, of course. Tsumiki sprang to attention, as though her nickname really was something that in Mioda's less than humble opinion, should have been censored. The guitarist narrowed her eyes at Saionji, quietly resolving to brainwash her next – the dancer's language was at times too much, even for this self–proclaimed bad–girl.

"M–me?!" Tsumiki squeaked, lowering her gaze to well below Saionji's height. "Wh… what am I supposed to do? I–I hope I don't mess up, with… w–well, whatever it is–!"

The dancer shook her head in disbelief. "Someone's hurt out there, right? So, hurry the hell up! Geez –you're a _slow_, stupid pig bitch."

Tsumiki scurried out the door at that, Saionji following along behind ("to make sure the bitch doesn't mess up", or so she claimed), with Nidai bringing up the rear ("They just need to fight the blood loss! I know they can do it!" he called out, as Tsumiki got to work with whoever else was in the hallway). Behind them they left a melancholy gathering – or at least, a very, very quiet group of people who were definitely not in a party mood. Nanami had gone to sleep on the spot yet again, Hinata was prodding her in an attempt to wake the girl up, Koizumi was staring blankly into space, Souda was crouched under the table and sucking his thumb, Sonia stood quite still in the middle of the room with her palms pressed together, Hanamura was chewing reflectively on a lettuce leaf, Tanaka was brooding in his corner, and Togami was still unconscious. Even Mioda didn't feel up to making a racket; she kept her voice fairly soft, as she spoke to Koizumi.

"Hey… Does Mahiru–chan think everything's gonna be okay in the end?" It was less a question, and more a request for assurance; Mioda knew full well that everything would be right, just as soon as she figured out some way to brainwash the whole island. If there even was a mind–reader here on the island – which she figured wasn't likely – then there'd be no more conflicts, or name calling, or anything else_. _"It will be okay, right?" she asked after a moment, and Koizumi shook her head.

"I _wish_ everything'd go back to normal, but… Well, I think someone's died."

"N–no way–!" Mioda yelped, then hurriedly lowered her voice at the photographer's shushing. "Uh… Ibuki means, no way! Mikan–chan's a great nurse, right?! Super–High–School–Level Nurse and everything–!"

"I don't mean out there – pretty sure that's just a distraction. The real death is right here, right under our noses. I… Don't ask me how I know, but I just know it." She frowned.

_It's not Byakuya–chan, is it?_

Mioda glanced over at the unconscious heir, suddenly very worried indeed. Had she accidentally killed him? Or, more specifically – had Souda punched him too hard? There wasn't any way to tell; he lookedokay enough to her, but then again, he _was _lying slumped against the wall. The thought chewed at her mind, just as she chewed at her lip. If she had gone and killed Togami, however indirectly it was, she'd be punished for sure – and the island might never see a peace again.

"What's Mahiru–chan trying to say?" she asked. Koizumi's gaze flickered about the room.

"Look, Mioda. Don't you see it? Someone's not here. Someone who should have been here all along."

"Someone's not–?" Mioda frowned, but noting the rising panic in Koizumi's voice, she looked about herself. "Well, uh. Hajime–chan, Mahiru–chan, Gundam–chan, Kazuichi–chan, Byakuya–chan, Sonia–chan, and Chiaki–chan are all here – and of course, Ibuki's here too, right in the middle of this complete flop of a party." She sighed. "Even washing up the dishes'd be more fun for Ibuki than just standing aro-"

"That's it!" Koizumi yelled, leaping from the trolley and running across the room, dodging around the others as best she could. "That's _it!_ Come on! She's got to be in the kitchen or something– I'm not resting until I've made sure that she's okay! We've got to stop this!"

Mioda blinked. "Hey, wait up!"

"Oooh, an adventure? Count me in!" Sonia grinned, skipping alongside Mioda.

"An adventure to the pits of hell itself?! Lead on!" Tanaka yelled, and Souda came out from under the table fast enough to knock over a neighbouring one.

"I'm not letting you and Miss Sonia just go on your own! I'm coming, too–!"

"Hey, you never know!" Hanamura grinned, taking Hinata's arm in his. "If the girls run fast enough and we crouch low enough–"

"Let's not go there!" Hinata growled, striding ahead and trying very hard to (unsuccessfully) shake the chef from his arm as he did so. "Nanami… Are you coming, too?"

"Mnn–? Oh, I suppose so."

And just like that, the whole group was following Koizumi, and not being at all secretive about it; they talked and bantered as they jogged to catch up with her, they gasped and screeched as one by one, they came out into the hall to find truly grisly tableau. She decided that it was probably something to do with the jam all over the walls, and kept her own eyes averted; trying to enjoy the notion that just for once, almost everyone was on the same side. It didn't matter that Komaeda and Pekoyama were bleeding on the floor; those that could were trying their very best to help them, and those that couldn't were running down a hallway for… some reason. Still, at least they were doing that together, right–?

Behind them, the door went _scrrrrrkrkkkkkklik_, the tell–tale noise of a bolt being shoved home. Mioda whirled at the sound, and promptly doubled back, clawing at the wood. "Hey! Open up already, Byakuya-chan-! "

"Tremble in fear before the Four Dark Gods, oh unworthy door!" Tanaka snarled, forcing the guitarist out of his way - and as Mioda watched, three of his hamsters squeezed themselves under the door. "Behold!" he bellowed, hurriedly scooping up the fourth before it could try to wriggle under the door - the enormous, furry lump of a thing that Mioda was sure would have gotten stuck if it had tried to obey its master.

"N–no way!" Souda yelled, pulling the tiniest screwdriver the guitarist had ever seen from a pocket of his jumpsuit, and running to the door himself. "Just you watch! I'll win this race to Miss Sonia's heart–"

"Excuse me", the princess said, stepping between them. "Would it perhaps be a wiser option to knock? I believe that is how doors are opened in your country."

And, before either of them could complain, she knocked. After a few minutes of anxious waiting, the bolts ground back, and there stood Togami. He was leaning on the door for balance, and even paler than usual.

"I… I am afraid it is too late", he said. "I could not stop her. I tried, but – I could not stop her." He rubbed one hand across his eyes, then remembered that he was wearing glasses, took them off, and tried again. "I… am so sorry. I am truly the only person that can be held responsible for this dreadful, dreadful thing."

"R–responsible–?!" Koizumi snarled, driving him back into the room. "What do you _mean_, responsi–"

But then Owari leaped. No, not leaped - it was more like she fell off one of the roof beams in the lodge. She definitely wasn't herself; Mioda could have sworn that gymnasts didn't just let themselves fall of beams, nor did they flop midair - _especially_ not very good gymnasts. It all happened too suddenly for Togami to get out of the way - as it were, Owari would have landed on top of the panicked heir, had the rope not halted her fall. Instead, she hung suspended above his head - hung being the most important word there, for a sickening _snap_ rang throughout the room as the rope took her weight, and she went limp. Mioda stared into her lifeless, glassy eyes, took in that macabre smirk, and felt her stomach flip-flop.

There was a horrible, horrible silence after that, broken only by the toll of the funeral bell.

* * *

_Ding–dong. _

_"Oh my goodness… Th–this is–!"_

_A body has been discovered. _

__"N-no... no way, no way, no way!"_ _

__You have one hour before the trial._ _ _  
_

_"Wh-wh-wh-wh-WHAT THE HELL?!"_

_Good luck, 'cos you're gonna need it!_

_"I... I am truly sorry."_

And the corpse smiled upon them all.


	13. Chapter Twelve: Strings Attached

**A/N:** Aaaand I re-wrote it! Y'all deserve better than the victim getting accidentally ignored and a chapter that's basically shifting characters around, so here is Chapter Twelve: Feels Edition. This 'new' chapter has the same basic plot points as the old one, but expands on them more; it also does some stuff that's completely different from the original, particularly with regards to the state of the corpse and the encounter with Togami.

* * *

When she first decided that she was going to save the entire island, Koizumi also decided that were someone to die, she would be wholly and solely responsible. She'd have failed in her goals, after all – and so she would have mourned the loss, even if it had happened to be someone she hated with all her strength (not that she thought she _could_ hate any of the others with all her strength, but still). And of course, she would not have blamed anyone aside from herself; that someone had died would have been all her fault, no matter who had actually murdered who.

But when she saw the body, Koizumi didn't think about any of that – she'd been blaming one particular person for the entire day, and he had just now taken the last scraps of any responsibility she might have had. And so, she lunged straight for Togami, grabbing him by the lapel and shaking him. It wasn't easy, considering his bulk, but she made a damned good effort nonetheless. "You _bastard!_" she snarled. "If you think even for a second that you're going to get away with making her do this, brainwashing her so she'd jump and all–!" And she stopped there, taking a breath, glancing over at Souda in case he decided to jump her from behind or something. He was _trying_ to smile, but he'd gone very tense, watching her with a fixed grin and an unblinking stare that was only made creepier by the fact that Hinata was doing it as well. She'd said too much, and that is why her pause for breath became a nervous silence, her heart hammering way too loudly in her ears and her eyes watering as she attempted to stare down Togami – she was at best making a complete fool of herself, and at worst leaping headfirst into the brainwasher's web and ultimately getting everyone killed by their master plan.

"Brainwashing? What exactly are you on about? " the heir replied, brushing her off with ease and stepping back, adjusting his glasses. There was no gloating in his mind, no smugness in the gesture. Koizumi might have been impressed, if she hadn't been utterly terrified of him in that moment, biting her lip and praying that he'd look away, so she wouldn't have to keep looking at him. Maybe if he looked away for long enough, she could just curl up in a corner and cry for dashing every last attempt she'd ever made at defying his plans - in this moment, she knew that he'd won, knew that he'd easily convince the others to believe she was just mad until they were inches from their collective execution. "Really, now… _Brainwashing. _To think that I ever considered you one of the more logical ones–"

"I amone of the more logical ones!" Koizumi spat, twisting away when Hinata made a soft noise of feigned worry and put a hand on her shoulder. She wasn't stupid - he was clearly trying to offer her a chance to forfeit now, save her dignity, but there was no way she'd just sit down and _shut up_ and let him quietly kill off everyone. Better to be considered mad than go down without a fight was something like the reason; she was in his face a second later, and only realized it when he took another step, his frown deepening a little. "Quit pretending that I don't know what you are, and own up to it already! You _made her kill herself!_ You brainwashed her, a-and now you're just trying to take the blame, so that we'll all think that you're innocent and come to the conclusion that she suicided, while you just sit back and laugh at us for ever doubting you - and then _kill_ us for ever doubting you!"

There it was; the accusation that she'd wanted to scream in his face, and now she'd gone and screamed it. There was a horrible, horrible quiet for a while after that, as he stared at her and she at him, and she found herself wondering if the heir had even realized her role yet. If not, she might just have an advantage over him in the ensuing game during the trial, might just be able to get to people before he could brainwash the entire island. And even if she _didn't _have that advantage, she might not need it - Mioda at least would stay at her side no matter how illogical she got, whilst Togami only had people on his side so long as they were under his will.

She smiled at the thought, and her smile only widened when Togami finally shoved his way past her, and walked out of the room without another word. She hoped it was because he knew full well that he had a good fight on his hands.

_I'll make sure you didn't die in vain, Owari._

_He got you, but... he won't manage to kill anyone else. I promise._

"Get her down", Koizumi snapped to the rest, even as she went over to the gymnast herself - tugging at the noose, discovering the fishing line when it _twanged _and broke while she was examining the body. Closer inspection revealed five lengths of the thin thread running between Owari's fingers on her left hand and the door; the photographer couldn't help but wonder if they had anything to do with the shallow scratches on the back of the gymnast's hand, or perhaps something to do with the blood around her mouth. Perhaps were just supposed to be part of Togami's trap, however; she could imagine the setup being some kind of excuse for her 'making' the gymnast drop from the rafters and break her neck when she opened the door.

And so it was that Koizumi continued her attempts at investigating the body alone. She ignored the murmuring from the doorway, ignored the laughter and groaning as Monobear explained the contents of the Monobear File; she ignored Sonia's soon making an excuse (something about finding out how the injured were doing) and leaving with Hanamura in tow. She even ignored the fact that the entire time, Souda and Hinata flanked the doorway like little tin soldiers, while Nanami flicked her hand this way and that in front of them, attempting to wake them up. She wouldn't have willfully ignored all this under normal circumstances, but here the stakes were too high. If Owari went unavenged, if they were to pick the wrong person at the trial, then they'd all be executed, and Koizumi knew full well that she alone couldn't stop the votes from going the way Togami wanted them to; she needed a clear, logical–sounding argument.

However, she definitely noticed when someone helped her to lift the corpse from where it hung; someone taller than her, who did so with perfect silence in both their voice and thoughts. As they laid Owari on the ground and stepped back, she looked to them with a smile, expecting to see Mioda and cringing inwardly when she found Tanaka there. Was he brainwashed and trying to mess up her carefully collected evidence? She didn't know, but she didn't want to find out; she moved in front of the gymnast, shielding her from him with her arms spread. "And what do you think you're doing?"

If the trainer's eyebrows were visible, he might have cocked one; instead, one of his eyes went a little wider than the other, and his lip curled enough that Koizumi knew she'd just made a mistake of some sort. "Helping to lower the mortal corpse from the heavens to the earth by your request, perhaps?"

"You could have messed up the state of the body, doing that!" Koizumi growled, moving towards him in an effort to keep him away from the one good source of concrete evidence she had; the trainer only shrugged, one of his hamsters chittering on his shoulder. "If we're going to get Togami for doing this, we can't just let everyone go and tamper however they like with it-"

"Which is why I think having two guardians of this treasured evidence, one of them a half-demon and keeper of the Four Dark Gods themselves, would be a far better idea than one foolish mortal permitted to examine the cadaver alone."

Koizumi rolled her eyes at the 'foolish mortal' comment, but she knew that she didn't have time to go after Tanaka on that front - she needed to talk to the others and get their accounts of what had happened to them, not to mention go and check in on how Komaeda and Peko were doing. "Good idea. Mioda, would you mind-?" And she stopped, looking around and finding that she was the only person in the room aside from Tanaka and the very-much-lifeless Owari.

"It would appear that the two of us must now guard the corpse together", the trainer said, and she snorted at his stating of the blatantly obvious. Thankfully, he wasn't about to question her on the whole brainwashing thing she'd mentioned when fighting with Togami, so she just sighed and settled herself next to the corpse in an effort to keep the silence which Tanaka preferred to any chatting. After a time, she checked the Monobear File on her Student ID; perhaps the thing the bear had been ranting about earlier would have some useful evidence.

_'The victim is Akane Owari. The time of death was around 9 o'clock at night. The body was found hanging from the rafters in the old lodge. The cause of death is unknown. Her neck is broken, and there are traces of blood around her mouth, as well as shallow scratches on the back of her left hand. There are no other visible injuries.'_

She shook her head in disbelief at the complete lack of anything that she didn't already know about the death, looking up at Tanaka and quickly deciding that he'd never let her inspect the room when she was supposed to be guarding the corpse. All she could do was keep her back to Owari, not make any kind of eye-contact with the animal trainer who stood over here, and pretend that the virtual pet on her Student ID was the most interesting thing she'd ever seen, while she hoped that perhaps the others would find something - anything - that might be able to save them all at the trial.

* * *

At this point, you could have dumped an bucket of freezing water on Mioda's head, and she would have barely flinched - okay, so only in the metaphorical sense, but _still. _She was left numb and reeling from the photographer's outburst on the subject of brainwashing and how evil it apparently was; it had never occurred to the guitarist that taking over someone's mind could be such a bad thing. But as with many of Koizumi's opinions, the more Mioda thought about it the more right it seemed, and the more she had to bow her head in shame, until eventually she couldn't take being in the same room as the photographer and left, lurking in the darkness between the lodge and the restaurant. She told herself she was just trying to find the injured and had gotten lost, but it was difficult for even her to believe, given that she was perhaps ten metres from the warm glow of the hotel, standing a short distance from the gates with tears in her eyes.

_I'm not evil_, she told herself, even as she willed Hinata to follow her and whisper this in her ear, as though that might make things any better. She knew it was wrong to make him support her like this, but she couldn't help it - she needed his support now, just as she needed to brainwash everyone into telling the truth if the case was to be solved, even Koizumi. It was all _necessary_, she told herself, but with Koizumi's stinging attack on Togami fresh in her ears, that was harder to believe now.

_Maybe there's a better way_, she wondered, but then Hinata arrived, panting from the exertion of racing after her, his breath warm and uncomfortable on her neck. "You're not evil", he crooned, stroking down Mioda's back as he said it; something she hadn't willed him to do, but which his state of permanent enamor made him try anyway. She was quick to stop him, of course, moving forwards and away from him, mentally telling him off when he attempted the stroking thing again - _just keep whispering to Ibuki, Hajime-chan, nothing more - _but he was persistent, fumbling for her hands in the dark and whispering a little louder when he found one. "You're the _best_, Ibuki-chan. You know you're the best, right? Because you are. You could never be evil. Mahiru-chan's completely wrong about that."

The mix of her own idioms with his slurred speech was downright disturbing, so here she shook her head and sent him to go and find out whatever had happened to Pekoyama and Komaeda - which of course got her another comment as he sadly let go of her hand and backed up. "Mioda, I'm... I'm lonely. You've barely talked to me. Aren't you going to visit me soon?"

His speech might have been barely coherent, full of 'uh's and rolled parts that no text would ever be able to properly imitate, but the worry of being left alone was definitely there, and it was a worry Mioda could sympathize with, or at least feel rather guilty about it. He was right - she really had used him ever since the flirting on the beach, and she'd never followed up on it. The guitarist wasn't sure if that qualified as 'evil', but she sighed just in case, and briefly let him take her hand in the dark, even as she silently called Souda away from the old lodge. _Ibuki gets Hajime-chan being lonely. And she's not evil, so... Ibuki'll get Hajime-chan a friend to go adventuring with while Ibuki's fighting bad ol' Byakuya-chan, okay?_

The teenager nodded like a small child might, holding her hand in both of his until Souda arrived, and at Mioda's orders, he reluctantly stepped back into line with the mechanic, his head bowed whilst the mechanic stared straight ahead.

_There! Now Hajime-chan has Kazuichi-chan, so he won't be lonely while Ibuki's gone - Kazuichi-chan, stop drooling._

To Mioda, it was something of a strategical decision, too - at least if Togami was there, calmly brainwashing everyone else in an attempt to win the next trial, her two minions might just be able to fight on behalf of the innocent ones once more, putting the guitarist quite firmly on the 'not evil' side of things. Although - if it had been the heir who had been wrenching Tsumiki from her control repeatedly in the last few days, they'd end up under his sway, and with Koizumi so firmly opinionated against brainwashers in general, Mioda would be left all alone in her fight against him.

_Unless I... don't tell her that I'm just like Byakuya-chan._

"You shouldn't tell her", Hinata echoed, reminding the guitarist to send them both off to see to the injured ones before either of them went and tried holding her hand all over again. Mioda leaned on the gate, her thoughts far away as they left her - really, did she _have _to tell Koizumi what she was? Theirs was a good friendship, a good partnership, and the photographer was at least on Mioda's side when it came to trying to take out the evil brainwasher otherwise known as Byakuya Togami. The guitarist guessed that she'd have to explain everything to Koizumi eventually, but was it really worth losing a friendship and upping the overall risk of them not winning the trial - especially with everyone's lives already on the line?

_Mnnn... Maybe Ibuki ought to prove to Mahiru-chan that she's a good person despite her ability-? Like, it'd be a weird fetch quest to take down Byakuya-chan and get all of Mahiru-chan's feels back, then when Ibuki tells her best friend what she is, Ibuki won't get any hate from Mahiru-chan..._

In typical Mioda fashion, the logic went in bizarre skips and jumps from there. In a matter of seconds, the guitarist was imagining herself as queen of a very peaceful island, and Koizumi was by her side, helping her with all the more logical things. Overall, everyone recognized that being brainwashed was completely worth it for the sake of peace and a general lack of murder; Monobear was furious, but there was nothing he could do bar put on regular black-comedy shows with Monomi. Mioda closed her eyes in something like bliss at the thought, rocking on her heels whilst holding onto the gate for balance-

"Mioda? The fuck're you doing out here?" The voice came from behind her – and threatening enough that she went something like fear, something cold and nasty enough for her to nearly let go of the gate she'd been holding onto, and wind up flat on her back in the dirt. Was there some kind of witch–hunt going on? Was she now a murder suspect for some strange reason? Or – worse still, what if Koizumi had known of her ability all along? If she was going to be completely honest with herself, the guitarist hadn't just had come out here to mope - she'd come here with full intentions to try and catch Togami on his own and interrogate him. However, she felt as though _she _was about to be interrogated; she needed to turn the situation around, and fast.

To illustrate the idea of 'turning' the situation about rather literally, and also to try and see just who she was about to try and talk to, Mioda let go of the gate whirled about to face the short, blonde kid in the suit. Not someone she'd really interacted with much – for one thing, Kuzuryuu blew the PG rating every time he opened his mouth. And for another thing, he was the sort of vicious character the guitarist definitely wouldn't like to run into in a dark place–

–much as she'd just done now.

And so it was that Mioda's thoughts managed to blow the PG rating all on their own.

"Heh… Um – It's Fuyu–something–chan, yeah?"

"The name's _Kuzuryuu._ And I'm not your friend, so don't bother with the whole Fuyuhiko–chan thing. Got it?"

She knew she should move forwards – to brainwash him, she needed to be closer – but instead she took a step back, a chill going down her spine. Maybe it was because Kuzuryuu was a gangster, and therefore very good at intimidating people; or maybe it was because in the low light, Mioda had no idea whether or not brainwashing him would at all work. She would have preferred to believe the latter, in any case. "Well, Ibuki's gonna bother!" she managed after a moment of awkward silence. "Ibuki's feeling very bothered, after all, so it only makes sense!"

"Whatever", came the reply; if Kuzuryuu was at all sympathetic for Mioda, he wasn't about to show it. "So, who bit the dust?"

"Akane–chan", the guitarist replied, forcing a smile. "And Peko-chan got stabbed, and Nagito-chan too, but Ibuki's not really sure - she just saw lots of blood! It's gonna be a totally convoluted and plot–centric mystery, Ibuki just knows it! Even though Ibuki's got brains, looks, and a winning personality, she's gonna need all the extra information she can get to solve this, soooo does Fuyuhiko–chan wanna come look for clues with her?"

_I can brainwash him in a minute and a half, if I can just get him somewhere well–lit_, she added silently._ A personal record for Ibuki, mmn?_

Kuzuryuu looked her up and down – okay, so he mostly looked _up, _but that was besides the point. His gaze was scrutinizing, his expression something like concerned, but she didn't really understand what he was looking for, or what he was concerned about. She guessed that she'd probably never know unless she brainwashed him – and even then, she was fairly sure that she didn't want to know. This was after all the guy who had threatened to be the first killer on at least one occasion now - for all Mioda knew, he might have been moping about how he'd failed to get the first decent attempt in.

And, speaking of things she didn't know - Mioda didn't know that she was holding her breath until he walked past her and towards Tsumiki's cabin without a word, gone as swiftly as he'd appeared. Her sigh of relief was soft, but it was there all the same, and its presence surprised her – she hadn't been that intimidated in a while. "C–compared to him…" she said out loud, before remembering that she'd not ordered Souda or Hinata to her side at any point – there was no–one to talk to, so she kept quiet for the rest of her little monologue.

_…Byakuya–chan ought to be easier. 'Cos – he's just a big softie, right? Right, right – kinda stern, and kinda plus–sized, buuuuuut he'd never hurt Ibuki – not like Fuyuhiko–chan might._

With this in mind, she slowly made her own way back towards the cabins. Though she wasn't entirely sure where Togami might have gone, it seemed to make the most amount of sense for him to either visit the two who got stabbed earlier, or go back to his own cabin to sulk about how guilty he was. If he so openly blamed himself for the murder, Mioda couldn't see why he'd go around investigating, not when he thought he already knew the answer - and since she didn't exactly want to go where Kuzuryuu had headed, she trotted over to the heir's door, and knocked.

"Heyyyy, is Byakuya–chan in?"

She heard no response, so she banged again on his door, using a different area with each knock to get one of three tones that were only distinct to a musician such as herself – one–two–three, one–two, one–one, three–two. "Byakuyaaaaaa–chaaaaaan!"

Silence hung in the air, and for a moment she felt something like worry. It wasn't like him to answer, though then again it wasn't like him to be a murder suspect. But – the moment passed, and she knocked a third time. "Hey! If Byakuya–chan doesn't answer, Ibuki's gonna break his lock and come right in!"

"You will do no such thing."

The response was sudden, almost violent; Mioda just about fell in when the door opened wide, bumping into Togami's belly and giggling, apologizing, then stopping with a sharp breath when the flat of his hunting knife pressed against her throat, the killing edge inches from her jugular. She looked up at him in silence, wondering if one brainwasher could perhaps brainwash another, and that was when she saw the lack of glasses, a thinner face once plumped by makeup, and she realized that she might just have made a terrible mistake in coming here alone, with no-one to save her from the cold-blooded killer who could murder her with a flick of his wrist.

"...Byakuya-chan?" she asked, and Togami's eye twitched like his hand thankfully did not.

"Do not address me by that name. I am Byakuya Togami no longer. We are going to talk inside", he said, and it wasn't a suggestion; it was a command, his hand pressing against the small of her back and guiding her inside. Mioda bit her lip, but with the knife at her neck, there wasn't much she could do bar walking forwards into his cabin and hoping against hope that she'd be able to escape the murderer somehow - even though knowing her enemy, he'd probably planned everything six steps in advance.

All she could do was hope that one of those steps was a mistake.


	14. Chapter 13: Syrup Through A Chainsaw

All Koizumi could do was wait, wait, _wait_, and it was driving her up the wall in sheer frustration. Not even Tanaka's thoughts could keep her from boredom - for whatever reason, she still couldn't read his mind.

_Is he brainwashed?_

That thought kept on coming back and back as the two of them waited, their backs to each other; again she stole a glance back over his shoulder, and could have sworn one of his hamsters had pulled a face at her. Again she was tempted by its sheer cuteness to ask Tanaka to look her in the eyes, and again she resisted. Though she didn't want to leave Tanaka as someone's slave if that was the case, she didn't want to try un–brainwashing him in a place the others would surely return to in their investigations – if it worked, she would be stuck sitting there staring at him for a good few minutes, and if one of the others walked in, how was she supposed to explain it? He wasn't trying to interfere with the corpse, so perhaps it was best to just leave him be for the time being.

"I am the mighty Keeper of the Four Dark Gods... I believe I can do more than one menial task at a time. In fact, given the power levels of your mortal 'tasks', I could easily take upwards of a hundred of such easy quests upon myself."

Normally she would have asked someone else for a translation, but there was no–one around. So instead, she just smiled as though she completely understood why Tanaka had chosen to go ruining his own precious silence, smiled as if he could see it. "I see."

This was intended to end the conversation right there, for Tanaka's sake – but for whatever reason, the great dark lord (or whatever he thought himself to be) went on. "Thus is the reason I seek to understand the lore you possess, if not the ability."

Koizumi blinked at that – she guessed the question would be fairly simple if it wasn't Tanaka asking it and using such poor word choices. "…Lore? Ability?" She nearly added _"We're not in a fantasy story, you know!"_, but held herself back for now; there was no point angering him if he happened to be resistant, and no point wasting her time with extra words if he was brainwashed and wasn't going to remember them.

"I am speaking, of course, of this brainwashing you were so passionate about. With venomous tongue did you condemn the supernatural act; I wish to know how such a mortal–obsessed human such as yourself came to believe in the unknown."

_Of course…_

She wanted to deny that she'd ever said anything about it – but how _could _she deny it, when she'd just about screamed that word in Togami's face? Telling him was out of the question, too – he was most likely brainwashed, and she couldn't risk un–brainwashing him here and now. All she could do now was lie about her intentions, and quietly tell herself that she'd explain it all to him later – maybe after she'd dealt with Togami and everyone had returned to their senses.

"It was just… something I said. One of those h–heat of the moment things, that's all."

Tanaka was quiet for a time after that, or at least long enough that she could pretend he'd bought such a lie from the girl who was usually so honest. She wasn't sure what hurt more, in those few fleeting moments – the fact that she'd lied, or the fact that she couldn't trust him with what she knew – couldn't trust _anyone, _even though she'd been so willing to scream it out to an entire room of people in the heat of the moment.

"Ah… It seems that even the strongest of mortals must bend and break under the influence of the supernatural, for you are crying", he said – and though she had no idea how he knew about that, all the hurt was gone in a second, replaced with cold anger. Tanaka had to be taunting her on behalf of the brainwasher, yanking her chain and knowing she couldn't do a thing against it, for fear that she would be caught. And as much as she'd have liked to twisted about and slapped him, the brainwasher had guessed correctly – she wouldn't ever hurt the brainwashed unless it was in self–defence, because what was happening was hardly their fault. So there she sat, trying not to rise to the bait and trying not to cry all at once –

That was about when she looked down and realized that there was now a hamster in her lap – one of Gundam's hamsters, the fat one. Koizumi didn't know how it had gotten there or why it had gotten there, let alone how long it had been sitting there for or why Tanaka wasn't trying to retrieve it, and she just about choked on her own tears in surprise, trying to gasp and exhale all at once. It wasn't a pretty sound, but the animal trainer paid it little heed, as oblivious to other people's distress as he always seemed to be.

"And thusly you are rendered incoherent and blubbering by the almighty powers of the great Invading Black Dragon Chan-P! Take my advice, mortal. Save your tears for when the killer has been brought to justice. For the trial, you will surely need a level head, to best comprehend the supernatural forces at work."

Maybe it was that she'd been through too much already, maybe it was that she was sitting right next to a corpse with no way of finding out who had the terrible deed, or maybe it was that he'd mentioned the supernatural and for once she couldn't pretend his big talk was some goofy joke, but something went _snap _deep inside Mahiru Koizumi. People walking in on it be damned, not hurting the brainwashed be _damned _ – she couldn't flee since she was guarding the body, and she'd finally been pushed into enough of a corner that she decided to fight back.

"Tch… Don't you ever know when to shut up?" she snarled, picking up the hamster with full intent to shove it down the back of Tanaka's jacket. It was a juvenile move, definitely, and going off the squeaking the fluffball wasn't at all okay with this plan, but it was all Koizumi could do without either revealing herself to the brainwasher, leaving the body in the care of a minion determined to remove any possible evidence, or grievously injuring the brainwashed. "If a girl's crying, that means you don't go any further with that topic!"

"Unhand Invading Black Dragon Chan-P immediately, or be cursed to a thousand years of pain!" Tanaka roared, and the hamster bit Koizumi's finger in response to his yelling – it wasn't a thousand years of pain by any stretch of the imagination, but it hurt enough for her to grimace and do as asked, putting the hamster on her knee instead. Much to her surprise, it remained there – a quick glance back up revealed its furious owner now standing above the two them, shaking in rage. "Insolent pagan! This magnificent deity graces you with its presence, and what do you do?"

Koizumi sighed and met his gaze, hoping to get the un–brainwashing over with so that she could slap him without fear of hurting a brainwashed person, but nothing happened. Tanaka stared down crossly at her, waiting for an answer, and she looked back until her eyes began to water, at which point she blinked and shook her head. "Ah… Sorry, I guess. I wasn't thinking."

But Tanaka wasn't one to buy lame excuses, and they both knew it. He crouched down to her level, glaring hard; again she met his stare, and again there was no reaction besides a triumphant smirk crossing his face. "Keheheheh, so you give me _that_ look in reply… Are you perhaps my other half, my light in pitch black darkness, my flame to my ice ascendant? Or are you perhaps possessed by a spirit – whose astral level is of course infinitely lower compared to my Four Dark Gods, but is still of significant mortal value?"

"What do you mean, 'that' look?" Koizumi snapped back, resuming the staring contest after only a second's hesitation. Tanaka couldn't possibly be the brainwasher, or at least she hoped he wasn't, and given that she wasn't feeling sick like she had with Mioda, he couldn't be resistant either. But he still somehow seemed to know _something_ of her ability – or maybe his questions were just the brainwasher's way of taunting her with this apparently unfixable minion.

Tanaka closed his eyes then, and went very quiet for a long minute; the fat hamster ran back to him and burrowed into the scarf. Koizumi thought he might have forgotten all about her, but then he smirked and looked back at her. "You are lucky, mortal, that I chose not to demonstrate my complete command of all that lurks underneath the bed. It so happens that today is not an auspicious time to do so. But be wary on the morrow, for my Four Dark Gods and I, now aware of this beast that lurks within you, will be sure to focus our next seven astral levels into the strength of our mighty lenses!"

And Koizumi had no idea what that was supposed to mean, but she smiled as though she understood. "How about you focus on the trial? You can worry about your astral levels later, you know."

Tanaka laughed at that; whether he was actually happy or just trying to look a little more like his dream dark lord was anyone's guess. "How foolish of me, to need to be reminded by such a mortal… Yes, of course. The bear's challenge, then comes our future duel." Here, he stood, striking a pose that probably would have looked intimidating if it hadn't been for the hamsters lining up on one outstretched arm. "I suggest you prepare yourself _doubly_ for such a conflict, though of course you stand no chance against Gundam Tanaka, keeper of the mighty Four Dark Gods of Destruction!"

Koizumi rolled her eyes, letting him return to his position at her back. There were thankfully no hamsters after this, but despite the lack of any conflict to make them talk to each other again, she worried and wondered about Tanaka.

_Why can't I read you? Is there something in that book about this? Are you the mastermind? Is there more than one brainwasher running around? Has the brainwasher learned some new technique?_

She kept asking those questions until her camera bag felt heavier on her shoulder, and she smiled to herself. Given what she'd seen of the elusive book, she guessed that the answers were close by.

* * *

"I will be honest with you. I am not who you think I am. But I am what you think I am."

He had taken a while to talk – sitting quietly in the low light of his room, shifting his bulk about on the bed next to her, fiddling with his glasses in his free hand, the knife always swaying near her neck – but now Togami was speaking, it was all coming out in a rush, almost too fast for Mioda to catch. She didn't dare ask what exactly he what meant by any of his far too vague words, didn't dare nod for fear of impaling herself on his blade; all she could do was sit and plan and demand over and over that Hinata and Souda come running to her aid.

"To begin with, I am not this… fictional villain that Koizumi believes me to be. No, no… I am no fictional brainwasher, I am by far _worse_. Do you understand?"

"Um… W–well, to recap for anyone tuning in after the ad break, Byakuya–chan's saying that he's not_–_"

"Do not call me by that name, for I am not that person", Togami growled, and Mioda was nervous enough that she didn't dare swallow, though her mouth was suddenly very dry. Koizumi's words from well before the party rang her mind – Togami was planning a murder, she had somehow known it – and combined with the fact that she had pretty much attacked and knocked him out less than an hour ago, she found herself far more afraid of him then she felt she should have been.

"Okay, then… Uh, Anon–chan is saying that he isn't Byakuya–chan, and h–he isn't a brainwasher either! Whiiiiiich makes total sense to Ibuki, because Anon–chan _can't _be the brainwasher, because Ibuki's pretty sure there's only one and all that, and the funny thing is–" She stopped dead, though thankfully she wasn't deceased just yet. Togami's knife dug into her throat a little, and though she closed her eyes in an attempt to block out the obvious threat, her ears betrayed her, picking up on every hissed syllable.

"There _are _no brainwashers, Mioda. This is not some ridiculous fantasy, where perhaps people just faint rather than die, or perhaps magic can save even the long–dead and gone. Get a grip on your sanity, try thinking before you speak for once – Owari is _dead_, and I am completely responsible. A–and I'm getting ready to walk to my death, and I wish to confess something before I die, so that it will not be _his _name that is blackened, but here you are whining about some ridiculous thing that photographer said!" He was yelling by the end, and the guitarist flinched back instinctively, ears ringing. She realized mid–flinch that she shouldn't have done that, but by then it was far too late – there was a sharp pain as the knife grazed her neck, but it was fortunately nothing more serious.

All the same, it was enough to get her talking. In fact, she started babbling her opinions as though they were the secret location of the buried treasure this supposedly evil guy with the sob story background was after. "Uh, uh, Ibuki'll tell Byakuya–chan everything before he dies, then! See, Koizumi was kind of accidentally right, and brainwashing's _real_, 'cos–"

"Don't you start with that stupid fantasy all over again – and don't you start with that whole Byakuya–chan thing either!" Togami snarled – and without warning, he put his glasses on with his free hand, then grabbed her little neck and shoved her back onto the bed. Mioda probably would have thrashed, but he was heavy, and that knife was always far too close to her head – that and she caught her own reflection in his glasses, stilled as she tried to adjust her expression there to something less terrified. "I'm not him, so don't call me that! In fact – I'm not _anyone!_"

(_Hurry up, Hajime–chan_, she repeated over and over._ Hurry up, Kazuichi–chan. Hurry, hurry, hurry! Ibuki thinks she might be about to get stabbed!_)

"Not anyone?" she asked, in part out of curiosity and in a far larger part to just keep him talking rather than killing her. "But… But Anon–chan's gotta be a _someone_, right? And a someone could technically be an anyone, so–"

"No, no, no! My talent is the ability to be everyone and no–one, all at once!"

_Everyone and no–one? _That made even less sense than Togami's last line, and that was saying something – not that Mioda was about to point it out, since in her experience guys with huge egos hated being told that sort of thing, especially guys with huge egos and huge hunting knives. So instead, she waited for him to go on, and thankfully he did, though that blade stayed far too close to her neck, close enough that if she was to try brainwashing him, it could wind up lodged in her throat if he slumped like Souda tended to do.

"Everyone and no–one… That is why I am not Byakuya Togami. I am in fact a Super–High–School–Level Imposter. I apologize for the knife, but I wished to illustrate the seriousness of the matter… I wished to illustrate my position. I predicted that you might go off on a tangent about that baloney Koizumi was spouting. But I am not some ridiculous supervillain. I am merely an imposter - and a convicted one at that. I hoped to save you all, but here I am responsible for such an awful thing... But I will not allow that photographer to trivialize it, do you understand?" And here, he paused. This was quite clearly where Mioda was supposed to bow her head and say that yes, she understood, and indeed brainwashing wasn't real, that her best friend on the island was wrong about something she already knew to be real; this was where she was supposed to act meek, and Togami would cry and they would both agree he hadn't _really_ done it, and they'd both agree to help each other in finding the _real _truth in the trial.

But Mioda was Mioda, and _no–one's_ opinions meant more than hers, so all the heir got from her was a growl and a hard stare. "It's not balcony, Byakuya–chan."

"Baloney", he corrected, and that was about when she decided to _prove _to him that brainwashing was real.

"Well _yeah_, but brainwashing's not balcony or barramundi either! That's what Ibuki's been trying to say all along!" She might have launched into a long speech, but it was about that point that he finally sighed and met her stare; she locked into her brainwashing mode, ignoring the headache (probably just because he had been shouting), ignoring the burning pain that came with staring for so long.

_Believe in it–! Acknowledge me! **Believe me!**_

And Mioda didn't care about the pain, didn't care about her lack of progress if the heir's unamused expression was any indication – all she cared about was that he _believed_, that he stared into her eyes and believed what she was screaming at him in her thoughts. Togami didn't look the least bit sleepy, but she _had_ to be getting somewhere; she was staring hard, and going off the reflection in his glasses, she definitely hadn't blinked. She studied herself there, with just a hint of pride as she continued to stare – she was such a brilliant brainwasher, to have been staring the entire time, so confident and so believing, so heroic and so believing, she was urging him to believe, believe, believe, she was confident, she was believing in her own abilities just like he soon would, she was believing, she was she was she she sh sh _oh shiiiiiiii–_

And Mioda stopped trying to believe, like she'd been told to do – there was no need now, she completely believed, and couldn't possibly have believed more. She was believing, she was a very good girl for believing – she was awaiting further input, more instructions, other things to do to make her a very good girl. She couldn't remember who gave her instructions, or even what she was believing, but she knew she was waiting for that voice to come back and give her orders, so she could move and think and do more than just breathe and drool and believe. She needed that voice, and she couldn't remember why exactly, but she knew she was dependant on them – not that it mattered, because she believed in them forever, loyal forever, they would come back and until then she would believe in them, only them.

Until then, she would wait for them.

"Mioda?"

She didn't need anyone, only that person, and she would never move without their command. She liked Togami, or maybe she was scared of him and that knife he'd put down next to her – but neither emotion was enough to make her do anything for him. She wondered for a moment which of the two feelings was stronger, but her mind felt about as sharp as it would have been if she'd just rolled out of bed at four in the morning, which is to say it was tired and woozy; fluttering from one topic to another like syrup spilling through machinery, errant thoughts dripping and drooling for minutes at a time, shredding and splattering in milliseconds.

_Like dessert._

"Oy vey… What are you playing at now?"

_Just dessert. That's all. Just dessert. Heh._

"Tch. Wake up already."

_…Why is that phrase funny?_


	15. Chapter 14: Monologue of the Damned

The imposter gazed down at Mioda – now eerily quiet, staring vacantly into space – with something resembling pity. He removed his glasses, placing them along with the knife on the mattress next to her; he had no need for such appearances now. He didn't know what had caused her sudden condition, but he could see far too easily that she would be another black mark against his name – no, against the name of the person he had been imitating for so many days.

"Hey, wake up", he growled, shaking her to make sure she wasn't just toying with him – but she was completely limp, and he gritted his teeth in both worry and frustration. He wasn't an expert in medical matters, but he could not leave the guitarist alone while he went to get Tsumiki, lest Mioda choked on her own drool in the meantime. But he could hardly carry her outside, for fear of being accused of being some ridiculous super–villain on top of what he'd already confirmed to the others. Really, if it _hadn't_ been Mioda who'd gone into this odd trance, the imposter would have assumed that whoever was in her place was acting in the name of some greater plot. She had effectively trapped him in his own cabin, hoping against hope that none of the others were about to attempt to talk to what he deemed to be the most suspicious person in the whole case. The guitarist didn't have the brains to carry out that sort of plan, but he guessed that if it was deliberate, it was definitely a selfish act to make him stay with her.

It was almost selfish enough that he considered striking back, following through with that certain _other_ selfish act he had been planning all along, well before the party went so horrendously wrong. But that would not help him, would not help Mioda if she really had been hit with a stroke or similar sudden ailment, nor would it help any of the others. All it might be able to do was rid the bear of vicious satisfaction in executing him – but if the others were to cave to the stress of the trial, it would doom the very people he had always sought to protect. This was where he guessed he and Togami differed – the latter would have taken his own life without thought for the rest, his hateful gaze trained on only Monobear, whilst the former would stand by the others to the bitter end.

What to do, then? Give his account of what had happened not an hour ago, in that creaky, ancient, loathsome lodge? Explain how Owari had attacked him in the darkness, her strength more comparable to two men than to that of a single girl? Explain how she took advantage of someone's distracting screams out in the hallway to slam the door and bolt it, locking herself in all alone?

…Not that he was awake for _that_ part, but – well, he had definitely seen her smirking down at him from the rafters afterwards, and his conclusion was that she had decided to kill herself from the guilt of attacking him. Impulsive was in her nature, after all, and she was human, so certainly felt guilt. He wondered if it was a guilt as terrible as what he felt now, remembering the incident - and in particular, how he'd tried to convince her to come down in hoarse whispers whilst the others banged on the door, but to no avail.

_"Heh… You really don't get it, do ya?" she had asked – the only words she had ever spoken to him from the ceiling cavity while he'd been ranting at her, and some of the last she would speak._

_"Why are you doing this?" came the reply; terse and tired, wary and worried all at once. He could see the rope about her neck, and his sizable stomach turned and churned in fear of what could come next – what might come next. How would Togami have dealt with this? No, a better question – how was **he **going to deal with this?_

_Owari laughed then, soft and bitter – he'd have almost have thought it to be a weak laugh, had it not been coming from the gymnast, easily one of the strongest people on the island. Her smile gleamed in the darkness of the rafters, blood around her lips; he must have hit her in the teeth when they'd been fighting earlier. "Keheheh! Don't blame yourself for this one, idiot. I make my own decisions, y'know? Even if someone else's... haha…"_

_The imposter had meant to ask her what she had meant by that, but he hesitated. Why he had done so, he never understood - maybe it was because he'd just gotten up, and had just realized how badly she'd injured him; maybe it was because he was exhaling with the effort of moving, and was worried that speaking would result in a complete coughing fit._

_Whatever the reason, he hesitated, and then it was too late to continue the conversation – someone knocked on the door, and he knew that no matter what, Togami would answer. Slowly, slowly, muttering curses in the idiot gymnast's general direction, he dragged himself over to the door, if only to reassure the rest that there was nothing they could do now; he explained this to the others, and Owari jumped. All in all, a smooth set–piece salvaged from a complete mess – the sort of crime that only the SHSL Heir, mastermind of an entire company's movements, could have been behind. It was a perfect crime for Togami, and Togami being Togami, he was sure to take the credit for his actions – and with it, full responsibility._

_Whether it was the imposter's crime or not did not matter. It was Togami's role to have done this, and by extension, it was his own._

But now, looking down at the girl who'd effectively sentenced him to spending the preparations for the trial in silence, kept well away from every last person he had wanted to protect and help, the imposter wasn't so sure. He had to admit that he'd been acting out–of–character lately – Togami was selfish and conniving, but here he was, owning up to what he had done in an effort to protect everyone from being executed. Byakuya Togami would _never_ have done that, no matter how desperate the situation had become; the imposter couldn't help being a better man than the person he was supposed to resemble, but he regretted that anyway.

And speaking of being different from the heir - Togami would never have ventured outside in the current circumstances, and once more the imposter wondered if he ought to go out, just to spite the other guy. After all, his imitation game was clearly wearing thin now, so why not just give up altogether and turn it into an outright parody, perhaps helping Mioda's plight in the process? On the other hand, it wasn't like the guitarist was _dying, _breathing even though she looked so lifeless and limp; getting her treatment wasn't an urgent matter, and the imposter desperately didn't want to be accused of being whatever super–villain Koizumi had dreamed up.

For a time, he stared towards the door, then at Mioda, his mind torn between the two options for now – but then the door was thrown open, and his fate was decided. Bristling, he lifted up the guitarist and put her over his shoulder, glaring hard at the two boys who had just come bounding in behind. He had little respect for either of them, especially not when both looked like they had just accidentally barged into the wrong building, their gazes vacant and eyes glazed over as they stared silently at him.

"Do you _mind?_" he snarled after a long few seconds. "I have a patient here, and I am going to take her to Tsumiki. I do not think either of you would be any use–"

"You killed her", Hinata said, and though it wasn't very loud, it was menacing enough that the imposter stopped mid–sentence, trying hard to hide his shock at the accusation. He guessed he must have failed, because the SHSL Whatever cracked his knuckles, a slow, ferocious grin sliding across his features. "You killed my Ibuki, didn't you?" he growled, and the imposter shivered. He wasn't cold – no, something was _definitely_ off here, something seriously off about the whole situation, and it was even more off when Souda closed the door without sprinting into the night, as the imposter would have expected him to do given that his buddy was getting ready to fight. In fact, the mechanic looked like he might be about to throw a punch himself, slinking around behind Hinata with his hands clenched by his sides.

"I–I did no such thing!" the imposter huffed, glancing between the two boys, offering the limp Mioda to them as a tribute of sorts. "See? She is breathing! As I just said, I was about to fetch help–"

"Get 'im," Souda slurred, badly enough that the imposter had to wonder if he was entirely sober. A few steps later, he was flanking with Hinata, the two beginning to circle about the heir. Their behaviour brought to mind overprotective dogs, and as their target could not face both at the same time, he chose to watch Hinata, who seemed to be the more alert of the pair, certainly the most likely to make the first move if an attack was to be made. The mechanic was more a distraction than anything else, doing nothing but circling, murmuring that one word under his breath. "Gettim, gettim, gettim… "

The imposter rolled his eyes at the completely needless repetition, and stepped out of the invisible circle in order to put the guitarist back onto the bed. He regretted that the instant he'd done it, but he knew he couldn't defend himself properly whilst carrying a limp girl. There was no time to retrieve the knife, and he would not have attempted it even if he'd had ample time to spare – he didn't want the combat to become lethal, after all. So, he stepped back into the circle, folding his arms when he turned and found Hinata just about breathing down his collar. "Do you see any wounds on her? I did not notice any myself, though I suppose an idiot like yourself will have to check three times just be sure."

"Gettim", came Souda's mumbled reply, as the mechanic resumed circling around both boys, apparently oblivious to the fact that his buddy wasn't doing the same. Hinata stared in eerie silence, and the imposter gritted his teeth, using the temporary quiet to try and find a logical explanation to their strange behaviour. Were they on drugs? Were they drunk? Was this what sleepwalking looked like? Were they merely messing around? Who paid them to put on such an act? Had he somehow missed the last case, was this the new motive? Or was this his execution?

Quite suddenly, Hinata lunged forwards and hissedat the imposter, his lips drawn as far back as humanly possible. "_Murderer_", he howled, and such an over–the–top accusation would have been laughable in any other situation – _murderer murderer murderer –_ but Togami was already tense, uneasy, knew that he _had _indeed killed someone, and so he did not laugh – _murderermurderermurderermurder–_

…Not that the real Byakuya Togami would have ever responded to such a taunt with a physical confrontation, but the imposter had decided long ago that a little creative license was necessary to prevent boredom. Therefore, he seized Hinata by his stupid tie and dragged him close enough that their chests were touching, his smile as grim as his opponent's gaze was glassy. "Hmph… Well, I won't try to deny it if you won't listen. Are you going to let me get her immediate treatment, or are you going to waste my time with a scuffle?"

"Treatment?" Hinata's brow furrowed at that, and he shook his head slightly. "No… No, she's dead. Can't let Byaku…" He trailed off, then shook his head once more and went on: "Can't let you go. She's dead, and you killed her."

"Gettim?", Souda asked, his voice suddenly close behind the imposter; his target swore inwardly, but kept up a calm demeanor.

"Idiots, both of you. She is _not_ dead, so there is no need for thi-"

And he stopped short. The real Togami would never have done that, but it wasn't a _deliberate_ acting out of character - Souda had dived in from the side, fist halfway to his jaw, and the imposter was simply forced to shut up in order to get out of the way, jerking back and shoving Hinata away from himself. There was a crash as the other boy hit the wall, and of course he looked to make sure Hinata was okay, but Souda was a threat he hadn't dealt with properly, and he remembered that far too late. The mechanic caught him off guard, caught him in the stomach, hit him again when he doubled over in pain. Staggering backwards was all that saved him from a third strike; he slumped against the door, trying to breathe with the doorknob in the side, with Souda shuffling his way towards him.

He wasn't sure what it was that gave him the rush needed to make him throw the door open – maybe it was the fact that Souda was smiling, or the fact that Hinata was getting to his feet, hunting knife firmly in hand. Maybe it was because he could feel the knock through the wood, even as it rang like a gunshot in the cabin, or maybe it was just that the sudden sound had startled him – _whatever_ the reason was, he turned and charged out into the night. The other two boys bounded after him, but the imposter was smart; he slammed the door as he exited, smiled at the thought of a precious few second's headstart–

–tripped, and before he'd even hit the ground, he knew it was over.

* * *

Koizumi for once was glad that she'd stepped well back after knocking on the door, since it meant she had slightly less of a chance of being flattened by the cornered criminal's apparent run for freedom. It wasn't exactly the murderous lunge she had anticipated, and not even a very successful attempt at running given that he'd tripped on the cabin's stairs and had fallen flat on his face, but she guessed that having Togami crash into her at full tilt wouldn't have been healthy either.

"I hope you're all right", she said, helping him up at best she could given his size and her injury. "We'll need you to confess in the trial, you know."

The heir groaned a second time, then raised a shaking hand and pointed up at the door – the suddenly open door. Koizumi had to hide a grin at that, because it seemed that Togami hadn't just been running from justice – he'd been running from irony as well, given that Souda and Hinata were slinking down the stairs towards her, their expressions dark, a knife clenched so tightly in Hinata's hand that even from here, she could see his whole arm trembling.

"So… They turned on you?" the photographer asked, trying to hide her excitement at the brainwasher's apparent loss of control over his minions. Maybe her ability was permanently affecting his, or maybe whatever he'd done to Tanaka would only work on one person at a time, and he'd overexerted himself trying to make sure the other two wouldn't get un–brainwashed. However, she was quick to remind herself that Togami _was_ awfully clever – there was every chance that he was just pretending these two were against him, testing her abilities and her strength while he was at it. If this was that kind of ruse, then she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing her fall for it, and so she kept her celebrations within the confines of her own head for now.

_Before I un–brainwash those two, I'll knock Togami out somehow. That way, he won't be able to see how I'm doing it._

Easier said than done, but then again she'd thought getting out of corpse guarding duty near–impossible. As it turned out, Sonia had arrived, and though she was wringing her hands and biting her lip, Koizumi was more than happy to swap places with her without so much as a word exchanged. The princess was likely stressed, Tanaka had cute animals to offer, and it wasn't like Koizumi really knew what was going on with Tsumiki's patients, so she had ventured into the nurse's cabin and tried to stay out of the other girl's way, occasionally offering advice along the lines of _'Hey, watch out for that cord!' _as the nurse struggled to remove a kitchen knife from Komaeda's shoulder. It wasn't easy to stay as far back as she'd have liked to, given that Souda and Hinata were in here for some nefarious reason, Saionji sitting silently by Pekoyama for some possibly-even-worse reason. There was a mystery to why someone as callous and nasty as the dancer would bother sitting near a victim, let alone handing Tsumiki the occasional gummy from the packet she was eating out of - but it wasn't one Koizumi guessed she was going to be able to solve. Both girls' minds were completely focused on what they had seen back in the hallway, and therefore all the girls' inner monologues would really reveal was the obvious, that both Komaeda and Pekoyama had been found stabbed out in the hallway. Needless to say, this made things not just cramped, but a little pointless as well, and several times the photographer wondered whether she should just move on to some other place. But - once she was in, Koizumi knew that there was absolutely no way she was about to leave with two brainwashed in the room, and so she had done her best to smile and bear the awkward silence.

But when the boys suddenly bolted out the door, she knew that something was going on - something much worse than Tsumiki's theory that both Souda and Hinata had developed an allergy to 't-t-terrible people like me' at the same time. Saionji said nothing about it, and so Koizumi said nothing in return - she hesitated only to reassure the nurse that everything would be just fine, but _goodness would you look at the time, I should really go and investigate properly shouldn't I? T_hough the reaction she got to her sudden leaving was caring at best and clingy at worst, the photographer managed to get out of the cabin in decent time, quick enough to see Togami's door slamming shut. Suspicious of what the heir might be planning, Koizumi had knocked on impulse, remembering only afterwards that confronting him probably hadn't been the best of ideas–

Suddenly, Hinata's voice snapped her out of her reverie. It wasn't because he'd only just spoken – he'd actually been ranting at them both in a borderline–incoherent state – but more because of the content of his latest words. "He _killed_ my Ibuki!" he shouted at them both, pointing the knife; and it wasn't because of the pointing that the photographer's heart missed a beat, that her thoughts were suddenly jumbled and murky, her plans in sudden shambles. "He'll pay!"

_Killed? And – 'Ibuki'… so he's talking about Mioda, right–? No, no, that can't be right, she's not dead as well! One's bad enough, and she was my only friend, and the only one I could trust in the end, and she even saved my life the other night, and and and–_

"I did no such thing!" Togami growled, though it was weak enough for Koizumi to doubt that it was the truth, as much as she'd have liked to believe him. "Providing that neither of you stabbed her in your ridiculous excuse of an ambush, then Mioda is still alive!"

"Get 'im!" came the reply, and before Koizumi could at all ask for clarification on what had or hadn't happened to the guitarist, both brainwashed boys were well and truly in action, lunging straight at her. She said a word she probably shouldn't have known, wondered how she was supposed to un–brainwash one when the other was trying to hit her, wondered too long and stared for a good few seconds at the melee that was Togami and this weird, twisted form of justice. It definitely wasn't the sort of justice she'd have wished on anyone, but it was a spectacle, and a show almost enjoyable to watch – Souda bit, Hinata slashed, and Togami fought with all his strength, as though Hinata was really trying to take out half his voicebox with that knife.

And she almost wanted to see it go on, to see the heir fail as either a result of his own stupid ruse, or a result of getting greedy for control over his slaves. It would have been perfect, even though it was sick and twisted either way, because Togami to her was sick and twisted. But – well, it just wasn't _right_, and if Mioda really was dead, Koizumi knew that she needed all the rightness she could get. So instead, she stepped into the fray. She grabbed Hinata first, since he was the more dangerous one, took him by the collar and hauled him backwards, glad that Souda wasn't paying attention to his fellow minion. It was great to hear Hinata's confused thoughts a few seconds of staring later, great to think that she was actually helping her enemy here – being _ever so much better than him_, there was a vicious sort of pride in that.

She was better than that awful brainwasher, much, much better, and that's why she left him and Hinata to restrain Souda while she ventured inside the cabin on her own. She didn't want any part of Togami's plan to work, didn't want to give him a chance to see how she was un–brainwashing the others – didn't want him to be even able to confirm that it was _definitely _her work. The less he knew, the more of an advantage Koizumi figured she'd have, though that was about as far as her thinking got.

After all, she found it awfully hard to think when she saw Mioda (the resistant, the innocent, the _only one she'd ever thought she might be able to trust_) sprawled and drooling on the bed. Completely and utterly brainwashed, left to just lie here feigning death to disturb her – the photographer couldn't believe just how horrible Togami was, and yet,_ here they were. _She almost hoped the heir's execution would be messy, then realized what it meant to think something so terrible; to _want _someone dead with every fiber of her being.

_Thinking that sort of thing... I'm a monster..._

She knelt at Mioda's side, thinking things best not typed out here - long, angsty things, analyzing her every action, trying to find out for sure whether or not she was really better than her enemy. Speakers in Togami's room buzzed, the stupid, stupid bear that had got them all into this mess started wailing about how everyone had to go to Monobear Rock for the trial, but there was something like a hiccup in the middle of its words; a choked sound, someone trying not to cry. She was surprised at that, but then her vision blurred, and she realized she was sitting here, bawling her eyes out, as though she was lost, alone, helpless, as though she wasn't winning this fight, as though she hadn't already won.

_But it's okay_, Koizumi told herself, staring as best she could at her friend, urging Mioda to wake up, telling herself that the only reason Mioda wasn't waking up was because of the tears, because the photographer wasn't very good at this, because she wasn't good enough for Mioda, but no no no it's almost over, _it's okay, it's all going to be okay. No more brainwasher, no more fighting, no more murdering, I can have my perfect peace, it'll all be okay, okay – Mioda'll wake up, she'll help me in the trial, she'll be okay, she'll wake up eventually, I promise, I promise, and it'll all be okay, even though I can't trust her anymore, even though I can't trust anyone anymore, even though–_

"C'mon, chop chop! That's totally not a spoiler for the execution, by the way. Even if you've been stabbed – looking_ riiiiiiiight _at you, Komaeda – you've gotta get your despairing little butt over there! Get your fellow murder victims to carry you or something! Oh, and by the way - no magic bullshit for this case, all right? I'm not having any of that sullying my beeeeeear-tiful despair!"

At that, Mioda finally stirred, and the fighting outside went very quiet; but there wasn't the triumph the photographer knew she should have felt, because she knew that it wasn't really _her _victory; she hadn't liberated Mioda, that was likely the bear's work. Her head hanging, she got up, stepped back, let the boys help her with the guitarist, but there wasn't the peace she should have felt at not being able to hear everyone's monologues for once - just a terrible, terrible kind of insecurity. She had no evidence that she could read minds right now, and with that, she had no way to prove beyond vague theories that Togami really had made Owari jump; all she had was logic, and logic didn't go very well with 'magic bullshit'. In fact, logic was screaming that Koizumi had no evidence whatsoever, no way out of the case, they were all going to die - and it was _all her fault_, because she'd gotten cocky, thought she could just read the mind of the guilty one in the trial and know exactly how they'd done the deed.

And it wasn't even like she'd ever had a real chance at getting her act together since the party. No, no - she'd fallen flat at the first hurdle, she'd failed ever since Owari had been hung from the ceiling, she'd lost already and had been trying to fool herself into thinking she had a chance somehow. Realizing this was enough to make her cry on the way to the trial room, burying her face in her hands as she stood shaking and sniffling in the darkened lift - she was useless, useless like her father, and there was nothing she could do about it. All she could do now was _rely_ on the ones she was supposed to be protecting with her abilities - hope that they would have done better in their investigations than she had, curse her own futile excuses of efforts. But how could Koizumi rely on anyone here when they could be lying, when she had no surefire way to work out what was truth and what wasn't-

Then, with a terrible creak and a shudder, the lift stopped; just like her thoughts did, just like her heart did. The photographer snapped to attention, and though it was terrible to find her hope in the death of another, that was exactly what she did. Owari wouldn't have died in vain - that awful brainwasher _would _go down, she would see to it, and then everything would be all right again.


	16. Chapter 15: 1 g4 e5 2 f3 Qh4

_So, it's true._

Up to this point, Mioda hadn't ever believed that there really _was _a mind–reader on the island. When Tsumiki hadn't answered her commands, when Hinata had broken free at regular intervals – she had only assumed that her power levels weren't enough to control them all the time, or that she'd gotten out–of–range; it wasn't like she'd gotten to read much of the book, after all. But now – well, she didn't know who had done it, since by the time she'd become fully alert she'd been standing in a lift with every other person on the island for some reason, but she definitely knew that _someone _had woken her out of her sleep, saved her from her own brainwashing. There wasn't any way of denying it, or pretending that she could solve the whole sticky situation with no conflict – she was now well aware that she had a miniature war on her hands.

_Because the only person who could have woken me up, that's gotta be the mind–reader–!_

She stole a furtive glance about the lift at that, which got her a raised eyebrow from Pekoyama and an accompanying glare from Kuzuryuu, hunched over the shopping trolley the swordswoman had been crammed into. Mioda was of course quick to break eye–contact with both, not exactly keen on brainwashing someone right _there_ in front of the others, but even as she stared at the wood of the lift's interior, tapping and tracing with a brow furrowed as though she found something interesting in it, her thoughts skipped between each of the rest all the same, trying to work out just who was responsible for snapping her out of her trance. The sooner she figured it out, the sooner she could stop whoever had been disrupting her plans and potentially getting people killed, so for once she really focused not on what was going on around her, not the strange looks she was getting, but instead on her own thoughts about each of the remaining survivors.

Pekoyama and Komaeda she ruled out quickly, since they had been presumably under Tsumiki's watchful eye the entire time – there was no way that either could have wandered over to Togami's cabin and rip Mioda out of the iron grip she'd had on herself. As she'd already brainwashed Hinata, Souda, and Tsumiki, they were out as well – the mind–reader couldn't be affected by her brainwashing, she remembered that much from the book. It couldn't be Owari, since she'd been dead, and it definitely wasn't Mioda herself. That was six out of the twelve, half the cast – she was doing pretty well so far.

_Um, so… Is it Byakuya–chan?_

Or, well, whatever she was supposed to call Togami now. She didn't have time to try and come up with a better name, focused as she was on the possibility that he could be the mind–reader. But – well, if he was the mind–reader, then Mioda guessed it would be ironic, even if it was horrible in a really boring sort of way. He'd attacked her already, been her enemy even though he'd not known her role, and she hadn't known his – there was the irony. And, because he'd likely confess and be executed in the trial that laid ahead of them, it'd be horrible because she hadn't gotten to fight him properly, and ridiculously boring because it would be an instant win for the brainwasher; nothing would lie between her and brainwashing the rest. There would be no fighting, no excitement, just death followed by an empty victory, and Mioda wasn't one for easy wins – she liked conflicts, so long as they were strictly good–versus–bad.

However, thinking more on the subject of the imposter, Mioda found it ever more likely that he was the thoroughly evil mind–reader; the one who had been able to act so nicely and suck up to everyone, because he was literally reading their minds and knew what they were about to say. After all, he'd only denied being the brainwasher, only called thata fictional thing, so perhaps –_ perhaps_ – and come to think of it, maybe the reason her brainwashing had rebounded wasn't just because of his glasses, maybe that was just what happened when you tried to brainwash the mind–reader. This made sense to her, more sense than being so very weak to reflections, and as much as she didn't like to think that Togami was the mind–reader on the grounds that his death in the trial was a near–guarantee…

But she didn't know for _sure_, not yet. After all, she'd not exactly read the manual, and the fact that she had no idea on how her ability even worked – that was something that irritated her beyond belief. She thought and thought, trying to remember if she had actually read anything about what would happen if the mind–reader and the brainwasher were to try and use their abilities on each other, but she drew a perfect blank. Her frustration on the topic only grew until she sorely wished she could have consulted the book right then and there – come to think of it, she hadn't seen the thing since she'd first brainwashed Souda – but then she looked about the lift again, remembered that yes, there were still plenty of people in there with her, and was relieved she hadn't been able to act on that particular impulse.

And speaking of the others – there were other suspects to consider, weren't there? One, two, three – _eight_ other possibilities, to be exact, which combined with Togami, made nine people whose roles in this odd game she didn't know. Mioda definitely didn't want to go accusing the wrong person of being the mind–reader – maybe she would have done it if these people had weaker minds, but all nine options had presumably robust minds, or at least strong personalities, and weren't likely to be pushovers. Heck, most of them would be even harder to rein in than the mellow–in–comparison Hinata. It wasn't like one of them really stood out as the obvious mind–reader, either – besides the apparently–not–an–heir (his face hard and dangerous, refusing to answer anyone's questions about his appearances as they continued downwards), there was Kuzuryuu (stalked Mioda in the night, kept his distance, as though he _knew_), Nidai (as loud and as cheerful as Mioda herself, quite possibly had a similar ability to hers), Sonia (so very obsessed with what others thought of her) Nanami (spaced out enough for Mioda to wonder if that was herway of reading minds), Hanamura (she shivered at the thought, what a terrible, terrible character to have that ability, even if it suited him so very well), Saionji (bullied Tsumiki regardless of how Mioda tried to avoid that, definitely next on the brainwashing list), Tanaka (his whole character so focused on the supernatural, it went the other way and looked more like empty theatrics – _or was it_), and Koizumi (apparently knewall about brainwashing, or at least knew that term, and hated it for whatever reason, and what if that reason was because–

_– no, no, it can't be her, _Mioda argued, vehemently enough that she had to bite her lip to prevent herself from saying anything out lad. _She's… she's crying and everything, it'd be really bad to accuse her,_ she went on, only adding a '_)_' as she made her way out of the lift, picking a desk near the photographer, wincing at the eerie _click _as a shackle put itself around her ankle. Call her biased, call her naïve, call her an anime protagonist, but the guitarist was a very, strong supporter of friendship power. Therefore, while Koizumi was her best, first, and possibly only friend on the island, destined to support her, help her rule the place, her brains working well with Mioda's abilities – _anyway_, while they were friends, she was cleared of any and all suspicion. It just couldn'tbe her, not without a pile of evidence big enough to sink a ship – stuff like _well, I already brainwashed the rest of the island, so it has to be Mahiru–chan._

And no, Koizumi's yelling about brainwashers didn't count as that large and glaring chunk of evidence, because the photographer likely just had some kind of awful backstory that haunted her, some nasty childhood experience she hadn't been able to shake off – maybe a weird ghost story, maybe a more realistic bullying story. Being her very best friend, Mioda would of course find out what exactly that highly angsty tale was, and they surely would bond over it. Then, in either a noble or a very anime move indeed, the guitarist would reveal what she was, in order to help Koizumi to get over her fear! Motivated by the power of friendship (or worst case scenario, left in Mioda's debt for her aid in dispelling the fear of brainwashers), Koizumi would be sure to help her, the island would be conquered, there would be no more killing, and it'd be a very happy ending all round.

But in the meantime – with the photographer crossed off the list, that meant only eight possible options remained; eight people she ought to test by brainwashing, one by one, until she had her mind–reader caught. Seven, assuming that Togami/Anon–chan/whatever Mioda was even supposed to call him was going to be executed in the coming trial – oh look, he was confessing to having killed Owari now, and explaining how he'd done it, how he'd been talking to her, all alone with her, and then she'd totally jumped herself and he had so _happened_ to blame himself for it. The guitarist said nothing – she knew he'd dismiss everything she said due to a combination of his ridiculous ego and the fact that they'd been fighting not that long ago – but inside, she was disgusted. How very _typical_, that he wasn't about to own up to hanging the girl all on his own, preferring to feed the others something more sympathetic, conveniently leaving out the bit where he'd threatened Mioda with a knife afterwards. He clearly just wanted to go out as the big hero, and maybe shame Koizumi for having a perfectly valid opinion while he was at it–

"No, that can't be right. I mean – there was blood around her mouth, wasn't there? That doesn't happen from hanging someone."

Mioda wasn't sure what was stranger about this: that Hinata was speaking his own mind, or that he remembered what the corpse even looked like despite being brainwashed at the time. Either way, she was left at a loss for words, shaking her head to try and rid herself of the last of the drowsiness her own self–brainwashing had left. Togami (adding on the_ or Anon–chan or imposter or whatever_ was going to get long and stupid very fast, _Togami_ was a far easier name for this sort of narrative) apparently didn't like the gesture, because he promptly glared at her, then cleared his throat in a very _I'm trying to make a really stuck–up speech all about how great I am, shut up please_ sort of way. Mioda couldn't care less about it, so she stuck out her tongue and shook her head harder, just to spite him.

Nanami broke the awkward silence there, her gaze flitting between the two combatants as though she saw something in the air between them. "So… something must have happened before she died, right? I… think, anyway." There was enough iron in her voice to make Mioda stop headbanging, and just pout at the imposter instead, though her mind was fumbling with how the hell exactly Nanami had managed to stop her without even mentioning it.

_She's not like me, is she–?_

"_Thank_ you", the heir said in the most ungrateful way possible; it was scowled and spat, his arms folded and expression very serious indeed. "I mean to say – you are both correct. However… Her death was still completely my fault. She was poisoned, and by yours truly. I hid a plate of poisoned food in the storeroom – it was my plan to kill myself after the party, so that we would not see five executed in the morning. But, unfortunately, I can only assume that Owari found it."

"I–in the storeroom? In the blackest of nights, cast upon us for those fearful few minutes, where the screams of demons did assault us? D–did that girl have The Sight?!" Tanaka yowled, and if the other's expressions were anything to go off, they had little idea what he was on about, and at best were trying to decode it. Most weren't even bothering, muttering cross little comments to each other about how odd it was that a guy they couldn't understand was even allowed into the Academy in the first place, and what his English essays might have looked like in school. But there was worse to be said about Tanaka's commentary itself – the guitarist's excellent hearing meant that she was treated to Hanamura's mumbled response in the aftermath of the declaration, which was both assault–related and completely unprintable. All that really needed to be said about the exact content could be found in Mioda's reaction; her cringe back, the shiver down her spine, and of course the overwhelming sensation of relief she felt when the topic was eventually moved away from the animal trainer.

"I don't get most of what he's saying, since I… don't normally pay much attention to video game bosses. Sorry. But, um – the storeroom is some distance from the main area. I don't think Owari could have gotten there and back again in the darkness." Nanami took an odd sort of leadership here, an odd control over the situation that, Mioda decided, would make her the next brainwashing target for sure. Maybe Saionji was the weakest of the possibilities she'd listed in her head, and maybe it was about time she started being nice to Tsumiki for once, but – Mioda's priority was the mind–reader, and the gamer just seemed to be giving her a terrible vibe, a twisting in her gut instincts.

"However, there was someone in the hallway during that time. S–someone who stabbed me," Pekoyama hissed in reply – or at least, she half–whispered and half–mumbled something like it, and _Kuzuryuu_ of all people repeated her words, just with more expletives. Mioda guessed it was just his bad luck to have ended up next to the swordswoman slumped in a familiar shopping trolley, with no–one on her other side bar a sign with a photo of Owari crudely tacked to it. The way he scowled when he repeated what she said certainly backed up that opinion, and combined with the way he glared about the room after he'd spoken, Mioda considered it a near–certainty.

"And me!" Komaeda called from the other side of the trial room, having apparently made a miraculous recovery from whatever had happened to him. Unlike Pekoyama, he was standing quite comfortably, leaning on his desk with both elbows, only wincing a little when he moved. He wasn't much paler than usual, wasn't shaking much; he seemed to be quite at ease despite the stress of his injury, the stress of the trial, let alone the stressful knowledge of what would surely happen when the trial came to its bloody conclusion.

Pekoyama hissed from the trolley, which for some strange reason sent Kuzuryuu into a fury. Mioda guessed that this was just because he didn't like Komaeda for some reason, but the almost protective behavior looked strange coming from the gangster all the same. "Oi, shut your fucking mouth! You're _nowhere_ near as badly hurt as she is!"

Komaeda smirked despite the attack, deflecting it as easily as though Kuzuryuu was an even shorter toddler. "I didn't say that. I just confirmed that I was stabbed in the dark as well, in the hallway. Although, the thought that a SHSL _Gymnast_ managed to best the SHSL Swordswoman in bladed combat… That's quite something. That she nearly put a end to trash like me was one thing, but to take down–"

"I said, _shut the fuck up!_" the gangster just about screamed from the opposite side of the room, and though Komada kept right on talking, it was inaudible even to Mioda, due to how loudly Kuzuryuu continued with his threats. "Or, or – I'll have your tongue cut out! I'll have you shipped overseas! I'll have your identity permanently stolen, and then you'll have to live on the streets, and I'll make sure you're dependent on one of my gangs, so I'll own all you used to have, and then I'll fucking well–"

"Silence in the court, please!" Sonia finally called, and of course Souda joined in, Tanaka providing a somewhat cryptic, somewhat uneasy thirding of the subject. The gangster fell quiet for now, or at least he muttered crossly at Pekoyama, who muttered back at him, somewhat less crossly. "Now", the princess went on, "Shall we take a vote? Owari clearly tried to kill two of us, then suicided when she realized that this had failed, guilt–tripping Togami into a confession in the process. I believe it would be wrong to drag proceedings out any further."

Mioda shook her head, something finally dawning now that most of the 'court' had shut up for the time being. "Um, um, but – Ibuki heard someone calling for help beforethe lights went out! Ibuki got up on a chair and did her super–special secret hand–signs for 'Ibuki thinks someone died out there', but Mahiru–chan apparently wasn't familiar with the Junior Woodchuck's Guidebook: Rocking the World Edition, so it all ended in tears and assorted body bits. Which reminds Ibuki, she really ought to finish Togami's death–iversary song! It might take her a year, but–"

"Never mind the song!" Togami snarled. "Mioda, are you _sure _you heard some kind of distressed call for help?"

"Ibuki was sure she heard it! Sure enough to get up on a chair and do all kinds of cool arm signals!"

Kuzuryuu snorted at that, then paused and listened to the swordswoman's words, then snorted once more. "Well, Pekoyama says she wasn't fucking attacked, 'til after the lights went out."

"And neither was I", Komaeda smiled, then addressed the guitarist as though he was talking to a very small child. "Mioda, perhaps you heard a recording?"

"No, Ibuki was sure it was a live voice–!"

"A very, very good recording. That's all it was."

And now Mioda was starting to realize why Kuzuryuu didn't like Komaeda, but she bit her lip and took it as best she could, hanging her head just so he'd shut up for a while.

* * *

"So, that is all there is to this trial! Owari set up a tape recorder, which we just didn't happen to find. I guess we can't have everything go like Midsomer Murders for this first time, but we'll be sure to do much better next time! So, let us vote swiftly. No–one is to be executed, because it was a suicide – the happiest of endings, even by Midsomer Murders standards!"

"Isn't the happiest ending the one where me and Miss Sonia have, like, six kids?"

Koizumi sighed at the princess's declaration and cringed at Souda's response, resisting the urge to run her fingers through her hair in a show of frustration. She had been so, _so _close to getting Togami executed, taking out the evil brainwasher, and now something as simple as how Owari got poisoned (if she even _had _been poisoned, Koizumi wouldn't have been surprised if the brainwasher could force her to cough blood) had driven suspicion away from him. She didn't like being pushed away from her goals so quickly, and she definitely didn't like the uncertainty this turn of events had brought.

"Wait, wait, _wait._ What we're saying doesn't work at all. I mean – first of all, Owari got a knife and a tape–recorder smuggled into the party, despite Togami searching everyone who tried to come in and confiscating just about everything. Then, in the two or so minutes the lights were out for, she rushed out into the hallway in the dark, and stabbed Komaeda and Pekoyama with it. Next, she somehow had dinner in the storeroom, in the darkness, for some weird reason I don't get at all, and she did that in – again – _less than two minutes. _And, after that, she came back into the main room, hid, then closed the door when we went to see what was going on out there, hooked up that fishing line we found, and hung herself." She harrumphed here, folding her arms before she went on. "Well… That's very realistic. All we need is a motive, and we'll totally be able to vote."

Her sarcasm was obvious to her, but apparently not to everyone. Souda nodded quite enthusiastically at what she was saying, and Nidai even proposed a theory: "Maybe she was defending her food from attackers? In the short time I was given to try and help her reach her potential, she seemed to be very food motivated!"

"Hey, don't make her sound like a _dog!_" Saionji whined, then promptly destroyed her own potential redemption in Koizumi's eyes: "Only Tsumiki's allowed to be called that, 'cos she's such a bitch!"

The nurse was quick to jump in here, surprisingly reactive to being called horrible names despite her shyness. She sniffled and stammered before rushing into words unprepared and unplanned, and the mind–reader couldn't help but feel for her, even though she was admittedly glad she couldn't hear her inner monologue. "A–ah! Um, um, I'll try to be less bitchy in the future, i–if that would help… I–I'll do _anything _to be less bitchy!"

"How about begging?" came the reply, and Koizumi winced. She was definitely going to need to give the violent kid a stern talking–to after this, running rings around Saionji's attempts at being at all witty – but for now, she needed to focus on getting Togami executed, and so she didn't interrupt the bullying session for now, trying to think her way past whatever trap he'd laid for her.

_There has to be something incriminating… something more… surely…_

"How about a little pole–dancing?" Hanamura asked from Tsumiki's other side, but he'd said his line at almost the same time as the dancer had said hers. So, whilst Koizumi was attempting to _think_, the two midgets glared daggers at each other, and the nurse whimpered and cried and carried on between them.

"I–I'll do either! O–or both–! Even both at once, and if I fail, y–you can hate me even more… hate me as much as you w–want to, I–I won't stop you!"

Sonia was looking distinctly uncomfortable, perhaps because she was directly opposite the nurse and so had to put up with watching the entire ordeal – and so Souda leapt to the rescue. "Uh, so to get back on topic and away from all this kinky stuff, which _does _sound pretty interesting, but I think it can wait – we were talking about how Owari stabbed everyone in the dark because she… got really hungry? What's this supposed to be, the hunger g–"

"H–hey, Kazuichi–chan can't say that! That's copyright violation, right there!" Mioda, of course, and just for once the photographer was grateful Togami snorted and rolled his eyes at that point – it seemed that they were getting stuck in tangents far too easily. Her thankfullness was painfully short–lived, however, for then the heir was speaking, and she didn't appreciate what he had to say.

"Souda, I believe Koizumi was stating that Owari stabbing two people, before rushing off to eat the poisoned food, and then running back to the main room, all in the space of about two minutes, is ludicrous at best. However, I would _also_ suppose that she's come up with some supernatural mumbo–jumbo to explain how this terrible accident was completely my fault." He smirked, and the photographer could _feel_ her temper fraying. Rightfully so, too – he was acting as though she was just some mad person who had wandered in, and he was logical, calm, _superior_, despite losing control over his own minions, despite having Mioda play dead in front of her for some sick reason.

"Clearly, all that happened was that the poisoned food was accidentally placed in the main area, instead of in the storeroom as planned." Tsumiki made a whiny, high–pitched noise at that, something like a rusty bike or ancient swing, but it was ignored by the heir. "So, tell me… Can brainwashers _fly_, perhaps? Do they have night vision? Super speed? I think someone here needs to realize that this isn't some fantasy, in which I am some dastardly super–villain." He laughed then, cold condescending, and something went_–_

_–squeak?_

"B–but, um… K–K–Komaeda was in the storeroom, g–g–guarding it… And… um… Wh–when I treated him, h–he was… um…" The nurse trailed off there, having unwittingly saved the room from the onslaught of a Koizumi temper tantrum, and thankfully Komaeda picked up the narrative before impatience could begin to set in. _Un_thankfully, his idea of a narrative was downright atrocious, more an overdone criminal–mastermind sort of reveal than anything decently logical:

"It's true. I found a plate of food in the storeroom. I thought that you might have taken pity on trash like me, so I ate every last crumb. But, but – I guess all along you were trying to kill off the weakest of the bunch, the complete no–talent! I was so, _so _happy to be the victim of your beautiful hope! When I realized what was happening, I staggered out into the hallway, forgetting that Pekoyama was guarding the office, and yelled as though I really was some poor victim! Togami, aren't you happy? It almost worked, but I was too terrible to be part of your magnificent plot! I _failed!_"

And at this point, he apparently decided that this was enough of an explanation, for he threw back his head and laughed. It wasn't like Togami's earlier laugh – more a nasty, bitter cackle that left him doubled over, coughing and hoarse and yet still smiling somehow. For once, Koizumi was glad she didn't have the mind–reading ability – there was something seriously wrong with this guy, something that none of them had predicted, and the silence that formed wasn't exactly because the others were all that interested in hearing what more creepy things he had to say.

Nanami was the first to come out of her state of shock, or maybe she'd been asleep for the disturbing part of Komaeda's little speech – there was no way of knowing for sure. "Well, if _you_ ate it all, then how come Owari was spitting up blood when we found her? That's a sign she was poisoned… I think."

"Sh–she just _completely missed the point!_" Souda wailed – and such an obvious comment was easy bait for Mioda, who of course had to jump in:

"And Kazuichi–chan really needs more E–X–P in those expositional skills of his! He's just re–telling the plot, come on!" With the guitarist's lines, the others at the trial table snapped out of their very much stunned state, several yelling all manner of abuse Komaeda's way as they recovered. Koizumi guessed she ought to be happy they'd all made such a speedy return to normality after whatever the hell that speech was supposed to be, but Nanami had too much of a point for her to be at ease.

_So, whoever poisoned Owari…. That's probably who gave her a reason to hang herself. And if it's seriously not Togami, then who could have–? And what about the fishing line?_

She didn't know, and wasn't entirely sure she wanted to–

"Now, it is time for the _true villain _to step forth from the shadows!" Tanaka roared over everyone else, and Koizumi had a funny feeling that she was about to know far too much about at least the animal trainer's take on the whole thing. "And that person is… me! Long has it been known that I ooze toxins from every inch of my skin! The hungry one was foolish enough to touch me! Contact was all that was needed!"

"That's ridiculous!" Hinata snapped, then shook his head as though he'd said something wrong, as though Tanaka's claim _wasn't _ridiculous. "I mean, I'll cut that claim to pieces! Sword fight, you and me! _Mano a mano!_"

_The brainwashing… sure did something to him, huh._

"E–eh?! Only if your sword is of a suitable astral level shall I meet you on the field! It would be slaughter to do otherwise! But, if you insist, then I shall oblige. _Behold–!_"

Or maybe Togami was just puppeteering the entire room to frustrate Koizumi into next week – it wasn't exactly like she had a way of knowing what was going on in everyone's heads. At any rate, Hinata hopped up on his desk, or at least got the ankle that wasn't chained to the floor up; Tanaka returned the gesture, and then they–

"Oi, oi!" Monobear snapped, banging his fists on the arms of his little makeshift throne. "We're not going into that sort of thing! This isn't an arcade game or something, you know! We're riding the despair train, not the fun train! If you guys wanted that, you shoulda strangled Monomi for me!"

"Okay, that does it", Souda butted in, folding his arms in a way almost menacing. Koizumi was grateful to him, for a single glorious moment, for finally getting things off this ridiculous tangent, but then the mechanic just had to elaborate, and it was all ruined. "I've decided – _she's going next!_" This, accompanied by an overly dramatic point to the rabbit, plunged the room into exactly the sort of chaos that made the mind–reader very happy that she couldn't read anyone's minds right now.

"She's my _sister! _If she goes, I'll lop off your head right away, and shove it straight where it belongs! No trial either, cos I'm a bear!"

"H–howwa howwa! How mwean–! And I'm not ywour sister, either!"

"Come, Hinata!" Tanaka yelled, not paying heed to either puppet. "Let us cross blades! Prepare to meet your doom, for as Owari discovered seconds before her untimely demise, my Ultimate Darkling Dive Offense, as spiritually supported by the mighty power of my Four Dark Gods of Destruction, is utterly unbeatable!" Here, he swished one arm and Hinata flinched and ducked as though the animal trainer had actually struck a blow from across the room – that, or one of those damned hamsters was unfortunately airborne.

"That's enough!" Sonia commanded, but her voice kind of broke in the middle of it; there was a yelp, a sob, and it was dreadful enough for even Tanaka to hesitate, for Hinata to blink and look towards her in some confusion, and though he _definitely _made a noise when the still–flying animal caught him in the side of the head and scrambled for traction, if that sound had been cut out it would have been a dignified quiet, as befitted the Super–High–School–Level Princess.

_Sonia… What are you trying to do–?_

"I… Tanaka, please stop trying to defend me. Get down. I do not need some knight."

"Yeah, you hear that?!" Souda hooted. "All Miss Sonia needs is a beautiful mechanic, like yours truly–"

"Please excuse my French, but – _ta gueule!_"

Nanami, as usual, went for the obvious instead of the logical _'Sonia, why the hell are you being so rude all of a sudden' _ reaction the princess's words really should have provoked; apparently it was Koizumi's job to be the only sane person in the entirety of the case, and that wasn't a position she was comfortable with. "I… don't think that's the right way of doing it."

"Oh? Should I have said it in Greek instead?"

"Not the point", the photographer hissed between gritted teeth, though her frustration lessened a little when Hinata finally fell off his desk in apparent 'defeat', and Tanaka gloated and retreated. That was one less thing to worry about, a little more focus on the whole Sonia problem; enough that she managed to take a breath and ask the princess a little more calmly: "Sonia, did you… do something?" There was something like a plea there – she couldn't help it, given that the princess had to be one of the most logical _and _likely non–evil people in the room right now.

_It's not you, surely–!_

"Ah. I… how to put this?" Sonia tilted her head to the side, tapping a finger against her cheek, apparently calm despite Hinata's wailing from the floor, Tanaka's gloating, and then Nidai's completely unrelated yelling all about how he had been suddenly reminded that he needed to do something, and Hanamura's usual terrible comments on that topic. It was almost an _admirable_ talent, really, or at least one inspirational enough to make Koizumi wonder if 'Princess' was the best talent for Sonia. No, 'Super–High–School–Level–Great–At–Dealing–With–Idiots' was not the most flattering name, but it was definitely a talent the other girl seemed to have. In fact, the ability to be able to stay so calm, despite being in a situation desperate enough to have two guys re–enacting Hamlet's final scene on the tables not two minutes earlier, had to be a virtue well beyond Koizumi's comprehension–

"I… I think I may have killed Owari without realizing."

And then there was a terrible, terrible silence, one broken only by Komaeda's maniac cackle and his usual appalling word choice.

"Well, well, well… It seems that we might have a checkmate after all."


	17. Chapter 16: How Far We Fall

"Checkmate?" Mioda asked, trying to keep the shake out of her voice, trying to sound innocent and carefree. Not an easy task, now she was alert enough to know for sure that the two brainwashed weren't obeying her whims in the slightest. No matter how hard she willed it, Hinata wouldn't get off the table, and Souda wouldn't shut up, spitting an absolute flurry of meaningless words whilst Sonia tried to explain whatever she thought she'd done. At first, she'd been drowsy enough to assume that she just wasn't thinking hard enough, or maybe they were resisting her and she wasn't strong enough yet to stop them. But now she was paying more attention, she knew that they definitely weren't resisting her will – they weren't even _registering_ her orders to begin with, let alone fighting back. There was no jolting from Souda when she told him to stop running his mouth, no pleading look from Hinata or snarky back–talk as he got off his desk.

All this could only mean one thing: Whilst Mioda had been brainwashed for however long, the mind–reader had gotten both boys. She now had even less of a reason to pretend that person didn't exist, and even _more _of a reason to be afraid of whoever they were. They weren't just some unknown entity now; they were a _clever _unknown entity, taking advantage of Mioda's temporary brainwashing to creep closer to their nefarious goals. They'd been thorough in pursuing their little advantage – they had torn what should have been hers from her, and now had her cornered, whilst she had no idea who was after her. They were clearly evil, too – they weren't using their ability to unveil the murderer, perhaps because they were obsessed with the sick game everyone else was stumbling through.

Never mind Komaeda's supposed checkmate, the situation was pretty much a checkmate all as far as the brainwasher was concerned. Even if that person hadn't made their final move to take her down, Mioda had been rendered useless, vulnerable for now, and she didn't like where this plan was heading at all. She had to escape somehow, had to get the others on her side, but for now, she could do little. She could only make her moves when it was just her and one other person – she had to get each person alone, not here in the middle of a trial, and then–

"Yeah, checkmate. I thought _you_ were the one with the superb hearing?" Komaeda shot back, interrupting her swift descent into complete paranoia, and Mioda forced a smile – despite desperately wanting to slap him and then run screaming from the room. Going off the way Koizumi gritted her teeth and swallowed before she spoke, the guitarist wasn't alone in this opinion, and she took some comfort in that. She had a friend here, or at least someone who agreed with her most of the time, and the brainwasher wouldn't allow the little paranoid voice to chew at that thought, worry about what might happen if and when she had to explain everything to the photographer.

"It's a pretty strange thing to say, though. Like – why _checkmate?_ This isn't some kind of video game."

_It'll be okay_, Mioda told herself, running over her own frail, impulsive excuses of 'plans' and desperately trying to make them sound good and logical. _She'll tell whatever spooky horror story, and then I'll comfort her, and she won't mind me being a real–life… you know. It might even help her get over whatever monster she thinks a brainwasher is._

Nanami blinked, yawning well before she said anything coherent, giving Mioda time to think all of the above. If it had been anyone else, the conversation would have just gone straight on regardless, but the sound the gamer made was just noticeable enough to get the attention of the room, assure her a place in the arguing. Even the guitarist caught herself waiting for Nanami to speak before she'd say anything of her own – an odd thing for Mioda, a possible indication that she was still under the influence of another brainwasher, but she quickly damned the thought. "Mmn… Isn't life just a pay–to–win MMO? That's what I always thought, anyway..."

"Now is not the time for games – or _fantasies_, for that matter", Togami growled, and Koizumi sat up a little straighter, though she thankfully didn't quite rise to the bait. Mioda cringed regardless; she didn't need another long rant about how horrible brainwashers were, not here where she couldn't do anything for fear of revealing herself in front of the others. The heir waited a moment nonetheless, then shrugged and folded his arms. "Sonia. Tell us why you think you killed Owari."

"We have already determined that there were two sources of poison, correct? What nearly killed Komaeda was Togami's poison. But we do not know who was responsible for Owari's poisoning."

"And whoever poisoned her drove her to go hang herself, right?" Saionji asked, and it'd all have been just _fine _if only she hadn't gone on. "So it's kind of like if I told that stupid pig–bitch over there to go jump off a bridge!"

"Her words seemed to indicate this", came Togami's timely intervention, though the nurse descended into a display of whimpering and crying loud enough that his words were nearly lost. Mioda resisted the temptation to try and brainwash both Saionji and Tsumiki from across the circle – she didn't want to be caught out by the mind–reader when she was left with no brainwashed to provide any distraction or defense. "That was why I initially blamed myself, when I thought the poisoning was all my work. Are you saying that you–?"

He stopped himself there, but he didn't have to go on. The implication was obvious, even to Mioda. And Sonia seemed to confirm it; she bowed her head for a long moment, steepling her fingers before she answered. "Do you remember the sauce–bottle?"

Souda puffed out his chest, and it was all the guitarist could do not to giggle. All that stopped her was the seriousness of what Sonia was trying to say – it didn't seem all that likely that she would lie. "Yeah, of course! No–one'd ever forget something of Miss Sonia's!"

"Aww, you're just like an overprotective puppy! You'd go well with the bitch over there." Saionji, of course, which earned herself a glare from Mioda. The girl was positively toxic, definitely going down – just as soon as she was done with the whole Nanami problem, and Koizumi was on her side. Those were not by any means easy tasks, but to someone as headstrong as the guitarist, they would only take a few minutes. In terms of Mioda's to–do list, they were just a small blip in her far bigger plans to dominate the island, for everyone's good.

"So, you lied." Togami kept his voice level, though he was clearly irritated with Saionji's little outburst. Mioda almost wondered how the hell he was keeping things together, but remembered that he was an imposter – good at acting, at keeping his feelings hidden away.

"It was not a lie. It _was _a traditional Novoselic sauce–bottle. It's just that there was poison in it, not sauce." Sonia's smile widened a little, and Togami growled something inaudible before he went on.

"May I ask you what your plan was?"

Sonia bowed her head, steepling her fingers. "Much like you, I planned to suicide. A leader must be prepared to sacrifice themselves for the sake of others. Without a killing, Monobear would have killed all five of those involved in the Monobeast incident. If by giving my life, I could protect them–"

"Y–you would have done that to save me?! Miss Sonia, you're too kind!" Souda's grin was far brighter and bigger than it really should have been given the dire circumstances, but Sonia only blinked in the face of it.

"…If you were involved, I may be having second thoughts."

At this, there was much wailing and gnashing of teeth and gloating and whining and crying from various parties, and ultimately the whole room was thrown into this noisy sort of chaos. It was the sort of state that made Mioda simultaneously very glad that she couldn'tmind–read, and yet wistful that she couldn't brainwash the whole room just to get them to shut up. There was only so much her sensitive hearing could take, only so much awful fighting and upset she could watch, and soon she was at her limit, pushed to enter the conversation and try to redirect it back on–topic. It was a rare move, coming from her, but the guitarist felt it was well–warranted – at the very least, she wanted Sonia's story to be _heard._

"Sooooo, Sonia–chan planned to off herself, right? In the lodge, with the sauce–bottle! Ibuki's not even sure there's Cluedo cards that cover that!"

"Exactly! I planned to redefine Cluedo history! But my weapon was mistaken for food. I left it unattended when I was aiding Hanamura in bringing food from the kitchen, assuming that no–one would drink the whole bottle while I was gone, but… Well, I was wrong. Perhaps I would have become aware of what was happening, but the lights turned out shortly after I came back. I could not check the bottle then, and forgot afterwards, thinking that as Owari had been hung, I was not at all responsible. And, so…" The princess trailed off, staring down at her desk, and Mioda felt a distinct tug. To say it was on her heartstrings was less a metaphor for the girl and more a complex metaphor, but it was _sort of _like that. For Mioda, with emotion came some strong impulse, and this one made her decide to continue encouraging Sonia, try desperately to build some kind of relationship even though she was near–certain that the princess would be dead in less an hour. The whole process took only a moment for this decision to be reached–

"Hold up a sec! I–I took th'bottle, thinkin' it was sauce an' all! When I was settin' everythin' out, I found it and then Owari went an'–! S–so, th'real killer's actually…"

–and a moment was too long, it was too late and she could only watch Hanamura's miniature breakdown, Komaeda urging him on and insulting him in equal turns. "_You?_ You don't have anywhere near enough hope to be the killer! Unless… Are you hiding something truly hopeful? Does the warrior of hope live inside your soul, as Tanaka might say?"

_What's gotten into him? Ibuki thought Nagito–chan was kinda nice, but this…!_

"Fool below all fools! My words of power are by far more cryptic, by far more masterful."

"C'mere, Imma show y'all hope inna sec!" the cook snarled in an accent so heavy, it was almost indecipherable. As Hinata muttered something about a rhythm game and Saionji began chastising him for 'getting the order all wrong', Mioda found herself looking over at the two natural leaders, hoping that one of them would come and put an end to this terrible, terrible trial. It just seemed to descend into fighting so often, especially now that Sonia was probably going to die; she could only hope that their lives outside the trial wouldn't do the same.

"Please stop!" the princess snapped, her voice somehow strong despite what she must have been going through, what she must have known could easily happen to her. "The blame is all mine! Allow me to take this burden upon my shoulders only!"

Togami's lip curled. "I have to wonder if you 're being truly selfless. Your act is charitable, but if you're just acting for the killer's selfish good, I won't let you be blamed! Do you understand?"

"Then try to prove that I _didn't_ do it", Sonia purred back, all smiles again, hands tucked neatly behind her back. "And I will try to prove otherwise, just like a lawyer in Phoenix Wright!"

Komaeda scowled at that. He flopped down to rest his elbows on his desk, one hand tracing patterns on the hard surface. "So, you're gonna try to prove that you did it? That isn't hopeful at all, you know. Perhaps the bear should just execute you already." He waited a second, then sighed. "Hey, Hinata? Don't you have something to add?"

Nanami blinked, tilting her head to one side. "Maybe everyone should repeat the last discussion, so Hinata can come in at the correct time? Six lines back should be about right… I think."

Hinata groaned and shook his head. "Look, I'm pretty sure Komaeda's wrong. Because – Sonia's clearly hoping that we'll solve the case. That's why she's owning up! She's hoping for the possible outcome for everyone else!"

The Super–High–School–Level–Luck, whatever that title even meant, cracked a broad grin, straightening at the other boy's words. "Is she? Or does our fair princess have a handsome knight waiting in the wings?"

"This isn't a football game, you guys! Quit giving commentary, and try helping out with the case for once." And of course, because it was Koizumi saying that, Mioda had to go bounding into the argument after her.

"For one thing, Hajime–chan and Nagito–chan and Chiaki–chan and Byakuya–chan and Teruteru–chan and everyone–else–who's–been–really–quiet–for–some–reason–_chan _ought to try listening to whatever Sonia–chan's got to say! Except Sonia–chan and Akane–chan, of course, for totes different reasons, only not really if one of them's gonna kick the bucket soon and the other already did–"

"Hinata! Get those truth bullets ready! We are all counting on you!" Nidai roared, Saionji only adding to the poor kid's confused look:

"Don't you remember, idiot? Triangle to fire, hold it to collect a bullet, circle to slow time, cross to shoot white noise, square to bring up the evidence bullet menu, and left bumper to switch evidence bullets!" A moment of silence, then the coach and the dancer blinked, sharing a look between them. Saionji was the first to look away and speak. "Hey… Why'd you say something so weird? Are your big muscles compensating for a tiny brain?"

"You were even more explicit than I was! And yet you know even less than me, which is NOTHING AT AAAAAALL!"

"Aaaagh! The caps locks are hurting Ibuki's super–sensitive hearing! Nekomaru–chan had better be quiet soon, or Ibuki'll have to get out the guitar!"

"_Moving on_", Koizumi frowned, Mioda only backing off the tangent because it was the photographer talking. "Hey, Sonia... Don't you know anything about what happened when the lights went out?"

"No – whatever that might have been, it was probably unrelated. All that I believe happened was that Owari took my poison some time before the lights went out. When that happened, she took advantage of the darkness to climb into the rafters and from there suicide. She was already dying, and so… It is likely that she lost all hope when she realized this."

Togami slammed his hand so hard into his desk that even Mioda winced. "Hold on! That rope was _mine._ Or at least, it was under my custody, until Owari attacked me in the dark and stole it from my box. Therefore, what happened was just as much my fault as yours! The true means of death–"

"–was all mine", Sonia came in, smooth enough that the guitarist couldn't get in a word edgeways. She was torn between telling Togami just who attacked him and keeping that part of things a secret, not wanting to give the mind–reader any more information. But – well, Mioda _did _want to say something, and guilt clawed at her insides as the princess went on: "She hung herself with your tool, but it was truly _my _weapon that was already killing her. I guess you could say the sauce–bottle called dibs?" She paused a moment, but not so long that Togami could retort; more a commerative, dramatic pause than anything that would suggest she had finished speaking. "So, on this note, let us vote! The true killer is–"

"Wait, wait!" Saionji whined, gesturing to Hinata. "He hasn't drawn a comic of what happened yet!"

"What the–?! Why would I want to do that?"

At this point, Mioda was again forced to step in lest the conversation end up on yet another tangent."Mahiru–chan was totally right a minute ago!" she called out, flapping a hand in Pekoyama's general direction. Let's all try and figure out what happened in the blackout! Maybe someone got Akane–chan before Sonia–chan did! That'd totally be true dibs!"

"Y–yes… Um… I–if you'd all rather we v–vote, though… I'll p–push the button with my face, as h–hard as you want–!"

"Please don't", Koizumi muttered, running her fingers through her hair. "So, what happened in the blackour? Or – actually, does anyone know _how _it happened? I was guarding the body, so I couldn't investigate much." She looked over at Pekoyam, hesitating before she spoke – probably because of the protective stance Kuzuryuu taken over the shopping trolley, straining to get as close to the swordswoman's side as he could given the shackled ankle. "Hey… You were guarding the office, right? Where the circuit breaker is?"

"She says _don't even fucking think about it! _It's got nothing do with her!" the gangster yelled, despite the fact that the swordswoman had barely heard the question, let alone said anything in reply. In fact, at his strange defense she shifted about, shaking her head and muttering things that even Mioda couldn't hear. Kuzuryuu went very pale at whatever she was saying, but to his credit refused to back down, even though he was shaking. "Hey, what're you idiots staring at?! Go solve the case! We don't have all the time in the world to just stand and gawk, damn it!"

"Upupupupu… No, you _don't! _You have – oh, I don't know – two minutes left, as of now? I'm getting' really bored, you've got your suspect and you're not voting or anything, sooo. One minute, fifty–five seconds!"

The gangster managed to go even paler than he had been moments ago. "Two minutes? _Are you fucking kidding me?!"_

"Hey now, you're the one who came up with that despairing idea! iDespair, even!"

"H–howwa howwa! Thwat one doesn't even mwake sense!"

"Ah… Let's just calm down, okay? Try and focus." A beat of silence, then Nanami looked over at Hinata. "…That's the cue for the snowboarding sequence, I think."

"First a whole comic, and now you want me to learn to snowboard?! This trial's too much work! I quit!" the guy wailed, and sounded like he was only half–joking. They were all very stressed, Mioda realized with a jolt – maybe because their lives were on the line, or perhaps because they had under two minutes left to discuss the events, and they just didn't seem to have gotten anywhere with this case beyond a straight–up confession from Sonia. Yes, she was likely telling the truth – Mioda couldn't imagine the princess being so dishonest when she and everyone else would be killed off if she was wrong – but they weren't _solving_ the mystery. There was a deep bitterness that came with that thought, a general lack of accomplishment that bordered on pure despair.

_Monobear… So, that's why he did this–?_

"Quiiiick, everyone vote for Hinata! It'll be totally hilarious!"

"You _do _realize that if we get it wrong, we will all be executed?" Togami snarled, his frustration with the tangents and the time limit blatantly obvious.

"It is okay! I would have liked to have fought for each of your hearts, but… Please, I beg of you! Believe in me! There is no time to explain further. We have only minutes left!"

"You bastards've got that wrong! Can't you get anything right? It's one minute, twenty seconds to go."

"Wait, wait, wait!" Koizumi yelled. "What happened in the blackout? I mean, it was so well timed, and people got stabbed in there, and when we found Owari there was that fishing line, and the scratches, and– Look, I'm sure we haven't solved the case! Or if we have, we've done a half–assed job! We… This isn't doing justice for Owari! Even if we live, this isn't _right!_"

"Then I am sorry for not playing the villain", Sonia said, looking at each person in the circle in turn. Her gaze lingered the longest on the photograph of Owari taped to a trial–post, long enough that she seemed to be addressing the deceased when she next spoke. "However, I thought that withholding information or acting as though I had deliberately killed her would be even more inappropriate and disrespectful to my friend – no, our friend. Sharing is caring."

"Wr–wrong slogan, Miss Sonia…" Souda mumbled, though it was nearly lost in tears and snifflings. He took a shaky breath, then started trying to scream and bawl all at once, hiccups punctuating his speech every now and then – it wasn't exactly pretty stuff. "B–but–! M–Miss Sonia would never have… S–so… Please s–stop, c–cos it's not real an' I won't believe it, it's all some dumb mistake, I _won't–_"

"Twenty seconds, bastards!"

"Tch… Monobear, pause your count a moment. The true killer is the one who poisoned Owari, correct? Not whoever did the thing with the fishing line?"

The puppet hesitated, paused, wasting precious seconds before it answers. "Thaaaaat's right! The true killer's the one who called dibs!"

"It's okay, everyone!" the princess said, and then she smiled, even though she had something in her eye a few seconds after saying those words. "As Souda claims – it was all just a terrible mistake! Please forgive me."

"Ten seconds! Better say bye–bye, bastards!"

Her smile was stiff, it was fake, fake enough to force the room into a horrified quiet, the sounds defined only by strangled and generally unhappy mechanic noises. This was where Mioda knew she should have pulled out the guitar and played a song, told a joke, done something – _anything _– to lighten the mood, but she just couldn't bring herself to do it. No, the situation was too grim for even her, and so all the musician did was sit there and curse the mind–reader for having driven her into a corner, forcing her to keep her mouth shut when she could have elaborated, getting them all into the whole sorry situation in the first place. If only she had been in control of everyone at the time – if only she'd been in control of just Owari, or just Sonia, or just–

"Tiiiiiiime's up! Let's vote!"

"…Do what you believe is right."

The princess's voice was soft, but the words were the sort that would haunt them all for days.

* * *

Sonia went quietly.

Not that her exit was at all quiet. No, no – machinery clicked and whirred throughout it, eerie whines and creaks in the beginning of the end. When the shackle started to move, drag Sonia back from her desk, it was all much louder, metal screeching on tile in spectacular cacophony.

A twisted hope remained - maybe, just maybe, things might end with this almost bearable sound, Sonia sliding back, all the time in the world to say their goodbyes. But it was a frail hope, almost a corrupt one - a few breathless seconds was all it lasted. It was in a sense, an uneasy peace much like that found at the top of a rollercoaster's first hill. Those watching knew what was to come, that hoping for something else was foolish.

Despite knowing, the descent was still terrifying. One minute Sonia was there, and the next she was ripped from the room. It was sudden, violent, an unholy roar of engines, a grinding as the wall slid back behind her, then a terrible silence. She was out of sight, but to hope it was all over was to fail to despair, and Monobear would not allow it. Sure, he allowed them to hope for a little while - their shackles even came off. But then a huge screen flickered to life on the far wall, and they stared; moths drawn to a flame.

It was there that they realized it: For a princess, Sonia wasn't going gracefully. She was moving fast enough that the camera had to stop circling like a celebrating vulture. As the viewpoint swooped overhead, her skirt lifted for a moment. Hanamura wiped his nose, and maybe that could have been ignored - but with a gleeful cut to the chef, all watched him squirm. It was only a few seconds, but it was enough. The realization of what he must have seen set in; a few seconds thought given to just how much of Sonia's considerable dignity had been robbed already .

But the lack of quiet and grace were things that were the fault of the gleeful bear running the death ride. They weren't Sonia's fault in the least. Someone not so strong–willed might have screamed or whined or cried, but not her – a princess to the end. Her eyes widened when the chain began to pull her back, but that was the only sign of discomfort. The way she went out was _regal_ in every sense: straight back, relaxed shoulders. And with a little thought, this wasn't much of a surprise. It wasn't just because she was a princess always and forever - Sonia was dying just the way she'd wanted. She was going for the good of the rest, so it was little wonder that she smiled up at the camera.

However, Monobear wasn't about to give up all that easily. He was a beast of despair, after all, and he was determined that just for a moment, Sonia Nevermind was going to despair – and as soon as that time had passed, she would be dead. If she fell, the others might topple with her, and how beautiful _that_ would be! So, he changed tactics – a pull of this oversized lever, a tug of that, and Sonia was chained to a post. One more, and she was not just chained, but constricted, a multitude of chains lashing, red marks on pale skin.

A short silence, a moment where the camera wasn't doing anything and neither was the death ride. It was commemorative, almost – but then the screaming started, a roller coaster sliding down another hill. The walls lifted up, drew away, rippled because they weren't walls at all but curtains painted to seem stony. So, there Sonia was, chained, surrounded on every side by Monobears waving signs (Long live the king!). One, a creature more actual bear than goofy mascot, stepped forwards, a great axe resting on one shoulder. A long, slow pan along the blade followed - no information given, only tension.

Maybe Sonia said something, or maybe she'd just refused to despair. Whatever it was, suddenly the crowd surged forwards and the executor went down; a plot twist in the little fairytale Monobear was trying to weave from her inevitable death. For now, he painted a hopeful scene, bright and beautiful; the mob clustered about the princess, ripping up the pole and bearing her high on their shoulders. They marched like peasants incensed, a rabble of shouting faces and waving fists, and Sonia's smile went a little wider. Though what they were yelling was impossible to make out, the signs were readable. The camera panned slowly over one, the viewers drinking in the promise of a happy ending:

_A princess mustn't die_

There was hope now, so much hope – but oh–so–fleeting, dashed in seconds because the swing was slow–

_this way!_

–and it was all over. Sonia was swallowed up by the crowd – perhaps dropped, perhaps put down, trampled either way. _But at least it's not explicit that she's dead!_, screamed hope, clutching at tiny straws. _At least we can pretend she's still okay_ – but then the crowd parted. A close shot of her closed eyes, and she was dead for sure; Monobear's ghastly little narrative had proclaimed her fate. And with her frail life lost, hope was gone, because there was nothing that could be done now, nothing that could bring her back.

A pause, then Sonia opened one eye.

Hope, a swelling in sound from the assembled crowd; a gasp from several of the unfortunate viewers. Here was something none could have predicted – contrary to Monobear's twisted plans, Sonia was alive! Where would she go now? Would she be able to run, now there was no story left? Perhaps, if she was quick, she could–

A second pause, then the camera zoomed out.

Despair, you could see it written all over her face in that cruel, cruel reveal. She realized at around the same time as the viewers did; she glanced up at the metal, the wood, and she was struggling only a second later. The other students could only watch as she failed, their hopes dashed and yet still desperately going, at least until Sonia gave in to the horde of little bears holding her in position, bestial claws tearing at her skin. She lay quite still, closed her eyes, and said something (or maybe she screamed or begged, it wasn't all that cle–)

And the moment passed.

Monobear had gotten what he wanted. He had taken everything Sonia had left, and hurled her into a despair so crushing, all the once proud princess could do was lie there and raise a voice hoarse, beg to die. Now he would give what he had promised at the start of this sick, sick venture. Or at least, he'd pull a lever, and by doing so, steer the ride towards its grim destination.

A lever was pulled.

And the blade

(of the guillotine)

came crashing

d

o

w

n

.

* * *

"Upupupu! Didn't that just _drag _you into despair?"

The execution was just as Koizumi expected, and yet it was so, so much worse, a fact only realized when the screen had flickered to black. It was dramatic as expected, undignified as expected, and yet there was something about watching someone die onscreen that made her feel sick – something terribly, horribly real.

"Can we go now?" Nanami asked, and yawned. Koizumi could only hope that was just to disguise her shock, hope the other girl did actually give a toss about the gory death they'd all just seen – and after a moment, she didn't have to _hope._ A faint voice echoed, then began to bleat and whine and finally came crashing directly into Koizumi's head – Nanami was monologuing away to herself, something about how angry she was with Monobear for doing all this. Though it was vague stuff, names and reasons for the most part skipped, and there was a large chunk of thought that simply went _classified censored password–protected redacted removed for violation of copyright regulations_, knowing that Nanami did care at least a little was something that had the photographer smiling, despite her own headache.

"If you like!" Monobear crowed, and began to dance a jig on his little trial desk, shaking with laughter unfettered. The doors to the lift slid open behind him – and yet, no–one moved to leave. "I even let you bastards have a whole new island to play with! Buuuuut, you had better all keep your wits about you from now on! You know, so you don't lose your _heads!_ Like the super–duper–evil Little Miss Murderess back there!"

_"_Shut_ up", _Souda spat, and you could just about taste the italic there; a harsh, bitter sound that had even the little robot–puppet–thing cringing. Koizumi blinked, but didn't correct him for being so rude – for one thing, she didn't like Monobear, and for another, all the mechanic's thoughts were violent imagery, dark and very drastic things, a tank roaring to life and then a jet plane, missiles and explosions the only source of real light. It was hard to tell what was going on in his head, but it was fairly obvious that Souda was not in a good mood, and Koizumi didn't want to risk any of his wrath being directed at her, so she stayed quiet as the mechanic continued his rant. "You think you can make stupid jokes like that? You think you can insult Miss Sonia to my face, huh? Huh?"

"Of course! I am the head bear around here, after all!" came the answer, worded perfectly to incite anger. Souda being Souda, it worked perfectly – out came the spanner, and there was a dangerous grin on the mechanic's face.

"I bet you're just a toy, right?! Well, I'll take you apart, just you wait–!"

"Upupupu! Is something asking for a bazooka to the feels? 'Cos if so, I've got _just _the punishment for Super–High–School–Level Mechanic, Souda Kazuichi!"

It was a clear warning, and one that had most of their tired group shuffling back towards the lift. Even Souda paled, took a step back, like he'd finally realized the sort of trouble he could end up in. But then, being an idiot even at the best of times, he apparently decided that suicide was a far better option than living, and moved two steps forwards. He was shaking visibly, and even Koizumi cringed at what he said, so cowardly and stammered and clichéd it was."A–awight! Miss Sonia s–s–sacrificed herself, s–so… so… I–I've gotta be the better man a–and… y'know…"

"What you're thinking of isn't a sacrifice! It's just stupid! Like your face!"

And now Koizumi had even _more _of a reason to cringe. The mechanic snarled at Saionji's last little line, staggered forwards to his doom. "Y–yeah, that's right! You all think I'm stupid f–for… just tryin' to be respectful to my Miss Sonia! You all think I'm stupid, don't pretend it's not true! But at the end, I'm gonna do what _I _think's right. S–so–!"

"YOU IDIOT!"

The word rang like a series of gunshots, every syllable harsh and loud, and it was accompanied by the deep rumble of Nidai's wild charge. He grabbed Souda by the collar and dragged him back towards the left with deceptive ease, yelling all the while. "I won't allow you to just throw away your life like that! From now on, you will have strict training and a strict eye upon you!"

Monobear cackled. "Good thing you stopped him, Muscles! If he'd touched a hair on my head, I'd have strapped him to a nuke and–"

"Whoaaaa, Monobear's a hella hairy bear?! Is that his super–secret weakness?" Mioda cut the puppet off there, and it would have been pretty irritating if Koizumi hadn't seen the plan behind it. By coming forwards and making herself the target of Monobear's anger, she was obviously trying to buy time, and got at least enough for Nidai to cram Souda into the lift before anything horrible could happen. The coach was quick to do just that, completely focused on getting away with everyone intact so he wouldn't have to punch a nuke – _wait, he'd actually try that?_

"No, it's a metaphor! Geeeez, you must have been the absolute worst in primary school!"

"Rock stars don't need to be English majors as well! Ibuki's planning on leaving that one to the Sues!"

"I thought you were into _light _music", Hinata growled, though he took the guitarist by the shoulder and steered her into the lift. There was something warm about his gesture, something about the way he thought of the contact, but Koizumi didn't entirely get it. Maybe it was because he'd just watched a classmate die, but his brain was muddled, scraps of info and snarky commentary and memory all fighting for dominance. Assuming that weird state of mind hadn't sorted itself out by tomorrow morning, Koizumi guessed it was going to take some time to read.

"IDIOT! _IDIOT!_" Nidai was yelling again, and the photographer hurried into the lift before Monobear could take offence at all the shouting. She regretted it within seconds, and by the end of that long, long trip, quite honestly wished that she could have taken a rocket to the head instead of having to stand through however many replays of the horrible, horrible death, all with varying degrees of gore and upset attached. Trying to come to terms with it on her own was one thing, but Koizumi was pretty sure that 'trying to come to terms with it' generally didn't involve being forced to watch the same horrible, awful, traumatic death over and over.

To make it all worse, that death was of someone she and most of the others quite liked, killed for doing something most of them didn't get, and that she didn't entirely understand herself. Yes, they'd survived the trial _somehow,_ and several of the group were trying to take comfort in the fact that they were still alive, and that maybe everything would be okay now. But – no, even if they _had _managed to get past this trial, it was a hollow, hollow victory. There was none of the peace that could have been salvaged out of knowing what had really happened, no little voice going 'they were punished for a _reason_' – there was poison, Owari had drunk it, but what happened next no–one had seemed to know. There had been no explanation for the fishing line, the scratches on the back of her hand, and for the mind–reader who had been shown the inner workings of just about everyone on the island, the lack of knowledge was driving her spare.

By the time the lift had slowed, and the doors had ground open, Koizumi had exhausted herself replaying the trial over and over, other minds clamoring for attention all the while. Her head hurt, and she just about stumbled out into the moonlight, Nidai's continued scolding of the mechanic a dull, boring roar; meaningless, not worth giving her much–drained attention to. She needed sleep, and dragged herself along, leaning on nearby objects before lurching forwards to the next. It was all going to be okay, though – they weren't all that far from their cabins, where she could sleep, wake up, read that book, then go and find out what had _really _happened to the gymnast. It wasn't that far, just a few more steps – just past the beach, across the bridge, past the supermarket, the ranch, the airport, then…

…a few more steps…

…one more…

…just…

"…Heh."


	18. GAME-OVER

**GAME/OVER**

**.**

_(a short interlude)_

_"Hey."_

_It's as though they're meeting for the first time all over again, only they never really met. Sonia had known Owari's name, all right, but it wasn't like they'd ever introduced themselves to each other. The princess's intention to meet and greet each person on the first day had been a noble one – but the gymnast had been up a tree the first time she'd tried, and out swimming the next. Taking this as a sign that Owari just didn't want to talk, Sonia had gone back to her cabin dejected, resolving to try again tomorrow. But the next day there were lives on the line, plans to make, things to do, and so–_

_"Hello."_

_Even now, it's not like they're meeting as Sonia would have liked it. After the guillotine came crashing down, the princess found herself on her hands and knees before Owari, in a rather unremarkable room. It's a dark place, but going off the contour of a desk and the soft glow of a screen, the princess figures that it is an office of some sort. The glint of dull metal snaking across the floor says otherwise – _chains_, Sonia realizes, _we're chained here for some reason_ – and_ _though she tries her hardest to dismiss what's right in front of her eyes, she shivers, getting to her feet to hide it._

_Owari's eating from a packet of chips she got from somewhere. It's clear from the munching and finger–licking that if a conversation is to be had, the princess should begin. But though the gymnast's look is expectant, Sonia can't help but hesitate. Before everything happened, the fair princess would never have interrupted a meal to greet someone. _After all,_ that chiding voice in her mind reminds her yet again, _greetings are never best done when the other person has a mouthful of food!Such an attempt is likely to end with spittle regardless of intentions.

But,_ a stronger voice says, _I'm not the same person I was that first day. I'm a murderer. And murderers are always a little edgier, always a little ruder.

_"Um… I have a question."_

_She's speaking despite herself, speaking though she's not yet decided either way, and she hates the thought. In response, the gymnast pops a crisp into her mouth; the crunch is just like the noise her neck made not long ago."Shoot", she manages around it, then mutters something about guns and hunting licenses. For the better or the worse, it's mostly lost in the sounds of munching._

_The princess decides not to pursue whatever point the other girl raised, instead taking one of Owari's hands in both of her own – being sure to take hold of the dry one, not the one half–coated in spit and seasoning. She hesitates once more, because she lied – she doesn't have just one question. She has many questions, all screaming in the back of her mind. They're all valid questions, like 'where are we' or 'why are we both alive' – and she's damned the lot of them in the same thought. There's only one question that matters to her, the selfish and entitled one, and so she asks:_

_"I never intended to kill you. I never wanted to kill you. I– I only realized midway through the trial what I must have done… but at least when I realized, I did all I could to lead the others to the correct conclusion. Please – no, I must first make sure it is possible. Will you forgive me?"_

_Owari chews and thinks – or maybe she's already made up her mind, and just can't speak since she's chewing. Sonia is a patient person to say the least, but the reply seems to take an eternity, slow enough that she eventually tucks her hands behind her back. Though she's wringing her hands out of sight, her face is calm, as a proper princess's should always be._

_"I don't get it." Owari says after far too long has passed, rubbing at her temples. "I don't get any of this. Why I'm alive, why you're alive, why we're here, where here even is, and… Why'd ya throw away your life back there, anyway?"_

_Sonia lowers her head at the question – no, the **accusation** – and closes her eyes in a display of shame. Failing to communicate is something a princess should never, ever do. And yet, here they are, Owari confused and sounding almost hurt, and she's got nothing to tell the gymnast, nothing to say in her own defense, let alone an explanation as to what they're doing here. She wants to take charge, and her every instinct screams that she ought to – but she can't do it, clueless as she is about this whole awful situation._

_"I… I did what I thought was right. And I am truly sorry."_

_"Goddammit, you're stupid!" Now it's Owari's turn to lead the conversation, as loud and brash as ever. She gives the princess a good, hard shake by the shoulders, and it's all Sonia can do not to start sniffling and wailing. For now, she keeps a decent act up, but her mind's in complete chaos. Owari hasn't forgiven her, she's a murderer and will never get a chance at redemption–_

_"Don't you get it? I suicided to **save** you. It wasn't like I knew who'd poisoned me, so I just killed myself off to make sure no–one else got executed 'cos of poisoning me. But then you went and argued for your own execution. Monobear could have spared you, and instead–!"_

_"Well, I didn't know!" Sonia snaps back, though it's more out of habit than anything else; a defense weak enough to make even the gymnast raise an eyebrow. She curses herself – it's not like she can deny or reflect the other girl's words, and yet she doesn't want to accept them. Perhaps if it was Hinata, Koizumi or Nanami, she would be more willing to take the truth without forcing an argument. For a moment, this is comforting – it's so much easier to blame the gymnast. But then, with a little thinking, Sonia realizes that she never respected Owari, so clearly of a lower class, always overlooked – and the truth in the gymnast's words just hurts all the more._

_"So? If you'd known, I bet you wouldn't have done anything different. Blah, blah, princess, just can't wait to be queen, responsibility, something like that." Owari rolls her eyes, stepping back, and Sonia suddenly feels empty inside. Oh, she desperately wants to reach out and tell the gymnast that it's not like that at all, it isn't, she is a person first and a princess second. But she doesn't have the nerve to do it, so all she can do is hang her head, tremble, force out the answer._

_"You are correct. And I understand, too, that you may never forgive me for what I have done. At least I believe that I am guilty… That is something. Admittance is an important step in moving forwards."_

_She's trying to keep the emotion out of her voice, keep it all cold and level, but it's hard, harder than when she was back in the execution room, that guillotine crashing and the crowd howling. She's not facing that bloody blade, but she's confronting a fear far worse, one that has her stammering, gasping for air. In the worst of the fight, when all seems lost, she wraps her arms around herself, turns away from Owari, and takes a step. It's one restricted by the chain at her left ankle, but a step nonetheless, significant, a showing of just how far and fast she's sliding into a fearful sort of despair. Sonia always knew that death would come to claim her eventually, but God forbid that someone refuse to trust her, mock her efforts to make up, she just can't deal with it and–_

_"No."_

_A hand on her shoulder, but not gripping roughly as Owari did before. It's a fact that delights her and terrifies her in equal measure; and so she freezes, unsure of how to react to it. The confusion comes later, when she wonders why the gymnast has bothered reaching out at all – that is when she looks back over her shoulder, and Owari takes that as a cue to keep talking._

_"You're a real idiot, aren't you? You're already forgiven. Like I just said, I'd rather die than have someone else blamed."_

_And Sonia barely registers the rest. That single word's a choir to her; she spins about, cheesy sayings from fifty different countries all fighting for a place in her dialogue. She holds them all back somehow, holds them back just like how she holds back her tears, bowing her head instead, staying true to the traditions that are all she has left._

_"Thank you", she manages after what feels like far too long to be polite. But Owari's not so rigid in traditions – so, there's no questioning look, no angry words. Thus lacking in policing, Sonia picks up the courage to say something more:_

_"I – I… I am not so sure I am forgiven. Shouldn't I have to earn–"_

_"Shut it", comes the response, and the princess obeys, caught in this extended moment of weakness. For these few seconds, Owari is some angry official, and she is duly afraid, all trembling and tears and mumbled apologies. After a time, she risks a glance at the other girl, fearing that she's ruined her own chances – no, no, she's **hoping** that she's ruined her own chances, as terrible as it is to hope that. For everything to go the way she wants it to, she needs to damn herself and then earn forgiveness._

_And maybe Sonia would have gotten a scowl if she had been facing someone like herself, unwilling to forgive or forget, clinging to the notion that she's guilty for all of this. But she's looking up at Owari, and so all she sees is a wide smile, and shortly after she's made eye contact, a mumbled something or other and a chip packet offered her way. It's an almost savage gesture, but a touching one given how protective the gymnast is known to be over her food. In fact, it's a gesture so very Owari that it kind of stings, reminding Sonia how much she's underestimated this one's strength of character._

_"I forgave ya already – so, you don't have to earn forgiveness or anything. Let's get outta here already, okay? "_

_The smile is returned, of course – traditions are all she has left, after all, and a basic tradition in every culture she's studied is to always return the smile. The crackle of the foil–lined bag fills the silence nicely, and the taste of the chip is almost as salty as the taste of the tears on her lips. She tries to deny that it's tears for a few seconds, but then her eyeliner's smudged across the back of her hands, and she cracks a weary, genuine smile at the sight._

_Sonia Nevermind doesn't understand in the least why she is still alive, she doesn't know where she and Owari are, and she's not quite sure they're both even alive – maybe this is some sick person's idea of the afterlife. She doesn't understand why Owari forgave and forgot so easily, doesn't understand why a quest for forgiveness wasn't demanded, doesn't even understand why she deserves forgiveness, for resorting to the most despairing of methods, taking a life – even if that life was planned to be her own._

_But Sonia is forgiven, and just for now, that's all that really matters._


	19. Chapter 17: Renewed Efforts

Mioda watched the sun rise, and tried to think things through.

Not that she was doing well at that – she'd barely slept, so her mind was muddled and cluttered. Of course, it was unlikely that the rest had slept peacefully (unless her dead classmates counted as 'sleeping'), but for the energetic brainwasher with a ton of problems she couldn't talk to anyone about, it had been an awful, _awful_ night. She'd paced her cabin until her legs ached, rolled over in bed enough times to make herself dizzy, counted sheep into the tens of thousands, but in the end, her dozing off had been more out of exhaustion than any success in quelling her nerves.

Even then, a _peaceful_ sleep had been elusive. Maybe there'd been a few moments of calm, but the rest of the time the musician was in the middle of a parade of noisy nightmares. Some were far more fantastic than others, but there was a definite theme – either what that had already gone wrong, or what might go wrong.

Much like a much a parade, the visions transitioned into each other seamlessly. There was Owari hanging from the ceiling, then the guillotine, and though neither had been bloody, Mioda's overactive mind filled in the gaps in memory with gore and screaming and pain. Togami (or _whoever_ he even was) threatened her with a knife, and Tsumiki stared at her, so close to exposing her. The Monobeast chased the brainwashed across the island, and she didn't know about it until it was almost too late. The aftermath was terrible, too; had it not been for the gymnast's death, she, the brainwashed, and her best friend would have all died at once.

The visions of the future – well, at least hadn't happened yet, but they hurt almost as badly. Everyone on the island hated her, turning their backs or making veiled threats. She was desperate for friends, but they were afraid of her, disgusted with her; eventually, they discovered how her ability worked and blindfolded her, so all she could do was sit in the dark. Koizumi took off the blindfold, but it was only to ask why she'd faked being best friends. Mioda couldn't answer it, and so the photographer went into a long series of insults, whilst the mind–reader smiled and nodded over her best friend's shoulder, occasionally throwing in a nasty word to keep Koizumi ranting. The musician was left in tears when she woke up, her breathing fast and panicked, because half of it had been real, much too real.

Maybe it was because of those night terrors that Mioda was out here now. She couldn't say there was no reason, that she had just done it because she was Ibuki Mioda, Super–High–School–Level–Light–Club–Member. It wasn't _like_ her to venture out of her cabin before the morning announcement, to actively seek out some open area where she could be alone. It also wasn't like her to stare at the cabin directly opposite hers – Koizumi's – and it definitely wasn't like her to decide that she didn't want to go and talk to the photographer, or try to break the cabin's lock, or even break the ice on the whole brainwashing thing. The guitarist had been planning to do at least two of those three things, but…

…well, as much as she'd hesitated in the doorway of her cabin, she had ultimately decided to go to the beach and mope.

This was all very atypical for Mioda – in fact, if the musician was going to be completely honest, what she was doing right now was behaviour she'd always made a point of disliking. Sitting out here, in the first place she'd discovered her ability, with her knees drawn up to her chest – it was lonely stuff. Her thoughts weren't helping that impression, being a mixture of the nightmares that had made her come here and frantic thinking on who the horrible mind–reader might be, what they could be planning from here. It was the sort of panicky, paranoid stuff she'd have expected from Souda, or maybe Tsumiki. Coming from the chirpy girl who just wanted to be friends with everyone on the island, it didn't feel right at all, and so Mioda's long, sad, fearful rants were routinely interrupted by snarking inner commentary on how 'OOC' she was being.

Her perfectionist instincts were screaming that she should be happy all the time, or at least look like it; this sad state wasn't right. But then again, Sonia's death hadn't been right either, and not just because there was something off about how that trial had been handled. At the start of the ordeal, Mioda's core objective had been to make sure that no–one was killed. That was why she had brainwashed everyone she could, why her current plan had been a simple "Brainwash everyone, no matter what", back before she'd realized that she might just have an enemy working against her, someone who would never rest until they'd claimed the island for their own sick anarchy.

_If only I hadn't ignored the book's warning… _

No, if only she'd _believed _it, because that warning was ever so clear. It had straight–up told her that a mind–reader was a brainwasher's natural enemy, and also that they could undo her work. If she'd just had a little faith in the thing that had given her the brainwashing ability, if she'd been willing to believe that one of her classmates could have been against her perfect vision, then the brainwasher might have been able to win the supernatural back–and–forth early on. She could have exposed the mind–reader quickly, had that person tied up until they could be trusted, and everyone would have been safe forever, andneither Sonia nor Owari would have died in the process.

_If, if, if, would've, could've, should've, if , if, if–_

Round and round it went, and as the sun crept higher, she reached something like a decision. There could be no doubt: The loss was all her fault. Because she hadn't listened to what she'd been told, hadn't headed the mind–reader off quickly, two of her classmates were dead. Her enemy was in an advantageous position, too – during the trial, Mioda realized that she had lost contact with all of her once–brainwashed people. Now, if she wanted to keep on fighting, she'd have to reclaim them one by one, staying out of her enemy's way until she was strong enough to stand against them.

And there was every chance that by fighting the mind–reader, she'd accidentally cause more deaths.

"But."

The word was short, sharp, came from her mouth unbidden. She smiled, wearily, and before she knew it, she was mumbling bits of thought, thinking bits of things she meant to say. This was Mioda's declaration, her_ stance_, and it should have been so much stronger than these strange fragments, and yet…

_…they're so strong…_

"…but, but… b–but…"

_…gotta keep going…_

"…have to…"

_…if I stop…_

"…'cos, cos… if Ibuki gives up…"

_…I know what'll happen, right?_

"…yeah."

She wasn't lying to herself on that front. Mioda's nightmares had covered the topic of what that awful mind–reader might do, and even though the beach wasn't all that cold, she still shivered at the memories. No, it wasn't like her that her enemy could _control_, but reading minds meant that they'd be able to say exactly what people wanted to hear. If they did that enough, they'd have a sort of social hold on the group – a terrible thing, able to make even Koizumi lose the plot and scream about how much she hated brainwashers.

She could imagine all too easily how her friend's furious rant at the imposter might have been done. All it would have taken would have been a fleeting thought on childhood scares, one that the mind–reader could have exploited. Just a few carefully placed words, and they would have dredged up every last emotion associated with it, then redirected it with the odd rumor about Togami, just so they could strike out at their natural enemy–

Mioda sighed, shook her head, spoke a few more words as she tried to get back on topic. "Just think. With a…"

_ …frightening ability like that_

, the group could be turned on itself. Sure, the ability could be used to create a kind of peace, but it was painfully obvious that the mind–reader was up to nothing good. If they'd _really_ wanted a good future, they wouldn't be trying to un–brainwash everyone, trying to destroy the controlled harmony that Mioda wanted. As much as the musician wanted to believe that all her classmates were good people, if the mind–reader was to claim victory, she could only assume that there'd be anarchy. People would fight and make up at her sworn enemy's beck and call, their emotions played with and easily controlled. It'd be an entertaining sort of chaos for the mastermind, but as soon as the mind–reader got bored with it, they could frame whoever was the least liked and guide the trial to an incorrect conclusion.

_But I'm not going to let that happen!_

At last, she had something like a strong declaration, and she stood by it with all her might. No, she _wasn't_ going to just stand by and watch such a future play out! She was the only person who could do anything about the situation. Maybe she had no idea how to stop them beyond tying them up and making sure no–one noticed, but she could at least get in the mind–reader's way, slow them down, delay the bad ending until either she worked out how to stop them, or help arrived. She had a good weapon for stalling the mind–reader, too: Since the brainwashed couldn't be mind–read, brainwashing people would be sure to stall her enemy, as well as allowing Mioda to rule her classmates out of being the mind–reader.

And as for stopping them entirely… well, if there was an answer to that, it'd have to be in the book Mioda read only a few days ago. At the very least, she guessed it would have _'how not to brainwash yourself if you're looking at your own reflection'_, and could have any number of other useful things, perhaps even_ 'how to defeat evil mind–reader bosses'._ If only she knew where it was, she'd have read it cover to cover, but it did kind of vanish into thin air back when she first found it.

_Okay, you can do this… Step one, find the book! _

Of course, Mioda didn't want this fight, didn't want to have to believe that one of her classmates would ever aim for such a terrible situation. But if she backed down, even after seeing how dangerous it was to let the mind–reader have their way, then the resulting chaos would be all her fault. She had to make a stand, and she did this quite literally. It wasn't the best of starts, given how much her legs swayed and nearly buckled, but it was something, and the musician turned the last thought into a mantra as she shuffled up the dunes. She was doing _something_, she was trying her best to make everything work out, and maybe trying would be enough. Hell, the brainwasher even had some semblance of a plan: Find the book, read the whole book before Monobear could make his morning announcement, and then proceed to win both the hearts and minds of everyone on the island, by making friends with them before she went ahead and brainwashed them. That way, she guessed she'd have an easier time of brainwashing them, and even if they were un–brainwashed, they'd be a little less likely to believe the nasty, nasty lies of the dreadful mind–reader.

_Hearts and minds, yes… Ibuki'll have to start with Mahiru–chan!_

Starting with the hardest person to get onto her side was so good an idea, the book appeared in her hand at that moment, and though the purple fire startled her for a moment, it soon died away, left her inwardly congratulating herself. Now she had the manual, she was free to go straight after the photographer. That girl probably didn't mean much to the mind–reader, but she was invaluable to Mioda's endgame – with just a few well–placed words, she could get at the brainwasher's heart. A boon if she was on Mioda's side, but if she remained hateful towards brainwashers, there was a serious chance that the hero of this story could wind up utterly demoralized.

_One more of those speeches, like what she gave Anon–chan…_

"Hello?"

Ibuki Mioda whirled to hard she almost felling over, then wished she hadn't been quite hasty in turning around. It was a painful motion, nearly twisted her ankle, but worse still – the poor girl had only gotten a few seconds at most to gloat about how she was going to take back the island, how very awesome her plans were. If she'd just taken a little more time, she could have made the moment last longer, but _no_, curiosity had gotten the best of her.

And there could be no taking the moment back.

For as soon as she recognized the person standing on the beach, her oh–so–neat plans fell about her ears, and her praises turned to insults.

* * *

"Good morning, everyone! Get ready to greet another bear–yoo–tiful day! As soon as the sun's risen, I mean… Uh, I guess I got a little confused? Since, you know… Well, actually, I guess you _don't _know, unless you do know, in which case you don't know I'm saying this, only I know that you don't kn–" A sudden shattering sound, a cocktail glass presumably hurled some ridiculous distance for a tiny bear. "Upupughhhhh, I give up trying to explain it! I'm a bear, not a narrator! Just enjoy your actual morning announcement when it happens, okay? _Okay!_"

Koizumi had been contemplating whether or not to bother opening her eyes, but her antagonist's shrill, almost painful tones were hard to tune out. She sat up with a jolt, then a groan, and hunched over; she felt sick to the stomach. Although she couldn't quite remember why, she stayed in that position for a long, painful minute, knees drawn to her chest. Memories of last night slowly trickled back, reasons for feeling sick surfacing all too soon: A lack of eating given a dead body hanging over the food, a horrific execution right before a long walk on an empty stomach, _my friends are dead and it's all my fau–_

Her thoughts took off then, becoming something fast and panicked. She inhaled sharply, then reached for her bedside table, fumbling in the near–darkness of the cabin before she found her precious manual from where it had somehow ended up in her camera bag. Koizumi _couldn't_ think about how the previous deaths were her fault for not taking out the brainwasher quick enough; there was something like a mental block there. She had to save those who were left behind, stop this cycle of murder before she lost more people to the brainwasher's whims. And if she was going to get anywhere with her own plan for saving the island, she had to read as much she could of the book on mind–reading, as dry and dull as it happened to be. Knowing the situation was half the struggle, but that part was at least a fight Koizumi knew she could win.

She opened the book carefully, of course. It was as battered as it had been the day she'd first found it, a day that felt like months ago, and the photographer had to take care not to lose half the yellowed, tattered pages, some of which actually seemed to be loose. The note was once again just inside the cover, even though Koizumi could have sworn she'd dropped it when she was trying to get away from the fireball, and its simple message taunted her. A peaceful victory had been just about handed to her, and she'd still failed.

_…I've got to try harder this time._

It was a mental effort, but Koizumi eventually convinced herself to try this whole saving people buisness again, and turned to the first page. She was half–expecting it to be either unreadable, or to inexplicably catch fire and attack her again, but instead lines of complete gibberish almost _startled_, then the ink flowed about, the letters rearranging themselves into readable words. She waited for the page to settle down, then skimmed the first few sentences, since she knew full well what they said: Yadda yadda yadda, look into someone's eyes and read their mind.

_As the mind–reader cannot read the intentions of the brainwasher or the brainwashed, and the brainwasher cannot brainwash the mind–reader, the two are natural enemies. Be very careful of a person with a brainwashing ability; they can turn any situation upon you in a moment. When dealing with a brainwasher, it is always best to isolate and target the brainwashed before confronting them._

She nodded, and then smiled at what she was doing. Only a few days ago, Koizumi would have considered all of this baloney. But now, here she was, nodding and thinking that something that sounded so delusional would at all help her.

_Perhaps a more common danger to a budding mind–reader may be found in mirrors. Any reflective surface may do this to varying degrees – a window may offer natural resistance, for instance. But stare into a true, sharp reflection such as what a mirror offers for too long, and you will hear your own thoughts, echoed over and over. The resulting noise builds until it becomes nigh–unbearable for even the partially deaf, and has been known to drive unfortunate mind–readers into unconscious states. (Error 535: Input = Output.) _

_Other than this distinct weakness to reflections, there are few dangers in this craft that cannot be overcome. With some diligence, and practice of the exercises in this book, a talented mind–reader may even be able to gain access to the feelings of the resista–_

**–wait.**

Something deep in her mind decided to stop dead, then jumped several tracks; a painful, sudden process that left her with a cracking headache, a lost focus, and little idea of what might have triggered the sudden change. Of course, Koizumi's consciousness did caught up with her now panicked and blindly charging subconscious, but it took time. For a while, she zoned out, her mind a complete mess. She stared at her bedside table, then at the book, then back at her bedside table, and repeated this over and over. Each time she did it, she felt more and more as though something was wrong, something that made her neck prickle and gut flip–flop, but she wasn't entirely sure _what._

The truth took its sweet time, but the photographer was a patient person, and so eventually, she reached a coherent explanation. Unlike every other time she'd woken up, she was no longer in Tsumiki's cabin. That was what had thrown off some deep instinct – she was a creature of habit, and here she'd woken up in somewhere other than her 'regular' room. She wasn't in that makeshift hospital anymore; she was in a proper bed, not a mattress on the floor, and there were no beeping machines or flickering screens to keep her awake. The injured people from yesterday – Komaeda and Pekoyama – were nowhere to be seen, and most importantly, there was no anxious nurse fussing about the room.

_Have I gotten better? I know the cards you give sick people all say "Get Well **Soon**", but this…_

Koizumi was pretty sure healing didn't work based on how many people were wishing you to get well soon – but when she pulled up her shirt to check the damage, there wasn't much to see. The swelling and blistering and generally ugly red stuff was _gone_, all of it. There wasn't so much as a slightly raw spot, just a white scar, and even that was barely visible against her pale skin. It trailed a lopsided spiral about her stomach, and even as she examined it, she scowled. Not like she'd ever appreciated having a burn that made doing anything painful, but for something so horrible to simply become a scar in a matter of two days – it was just all levels of wrong.

_Or, maybe it did heal normally. Maybe I've just been out cold for… Weeks? Months? A year? How long should this have taken to scar over, anyway? _

To say that train of thought had unfortunate implications would have been the understatement of the week. It was jam–packed with unfortunate implications, like passengers on the first train to the city, each going the same general way but taking a slightly different position on the matter. The simile worked out to be a long series of _what ifs_, each more dire and desperate than the last: What if another killing's happened? What if the trial for the next case's already started, and I'm not there to help? What if everyone else is already dead? What if they found a way off the island, and left me behind–

_–what if the brainwasher's… won…?_

As to Koizumi, the last thought was the worst of the lot, it was only natural that it fought and shouted its way to the forefront of her mind. Unable to just sit there and hold herself at ease with such a horrific endgame possibly taking place _right now_, the photographer dragged herself out of bed, stuffing the precious manual back into the camera bag. She would have to read the damned thing later. Hopefully, not much later – a quick look through someone's mind should give her the answers she needed – but having to put it off still irked her all the same.

Outside, it was cold compared to her cabin. Barely dawn, a light breeze unwelcome, but the photographer forced herself forwards anyway. Yes, it was some ungodly hour, yes, she was tired, yes, she should probably just read the book while she had this time where no–one was around, _but – _there had to be someone, and she desperately wanted to know whether or not it was worth trying to save the place now. She walked down the steps of her cabin quite slowly, grasping at straws all the way: Hadn't Monobear hinted that someone was awake and out of their cottage?

…Maybe? His exact words were drifting out of her reach now, since Koizumi had been sleepy when she'd heard them, but she still could have sworn he'd hinted that someone wasn't in bed. Hopefully she was right about this – no, she _had _to be right, there had to be at least someone alive and mind–readable and wandering about.

_But where…_

She paused at the foot of her cabin's porch, and thought. Perhaps they had gone to the beach? No, that was too isolated. Only someone with a death wish would go there at this time of the morning, and Koizumi didn't particularly want to be discovering a body before she even know when she'd woken up. The lodge reeked of the previous night's murder – for all she knew, Owari might still be strung up in there – so in terms of close places that _didn't_ involve wandering past upset Monobeasts and/or through segments of brush, there was only one option.

As she walked towards the hotel, Koizumi smelled something good, and knew she'd made the best and worst choice simultaneously. She'd almost have rather played chicken with one of the remaining killer–animal–robots than read Hanamura's mind. You didn't even need the ability to know roughly what was on it, so obvious he'd always made his intentions. The guy had been making passes at everyone since the first day, the photographer included; no matter what was said, he could turn it into some kind of entendre. Koizumi wasn't sure how the mind–reading could be even more explicit about what the chef wanted from his island stay, and was pretty damned sure that she didn't want to know.

The thirst for information on her situation drove her onwards for a time, but eventually, Koizumi came to a halt in the lobby. Her loathing had joined with her worry into something that was hard to push past. The chef wasn't exactly _evil_ (and hell, getting up so early to make a good breakfast for everyone took some dedication), but there was still something about him that made her want to leave any room he entered – and that was before she'd found the book. Now, she had the ability to have absolutely perverted things beamed straight into her head; if there was anyone who was going to quite predictably have a mind focused on all manner of horrifying visuals, it was Hanamura. It was exactly the sort of scenario that the manual probably had in its _Top Ten Encounters To Avoid As a Mind–Reader_ section.

And yet, she needed answers. She needed to know if she could still thwart the brainwasher, and she needed to know if she could do it and still have fourteen alive on the island at the end of it. She had to know if she could win, and asking Hanamura was the only way of getting those answers quickly, buying her precious time. So, Koizumi fought her fears of X–rated things and herself as a pinup girl, or at least forced her way through, step by mentally tormented step.

This wasn't going to be a pretty encounter, but whoever said that saving the island was going to be _easy?_

* * *

**A/N** \- Hello, thanks everyone for your support! Following a short hiatus, his fic is now back on track for a proper, fairly frequent update schedule. I also just wanted to say that this case will be looking at The Characters I Don't Write All That Well, because basically this is a whole-cast fic, and it wouldn't make any sense for Koizumi and Mioda to only drag a few characters into their overly complex plans! Since I've not ever written certain characters properly before, there will likely be some character-related hiccups in this case. Obviously I'll try to keep them to a minimum, but if you see someone running hideously OOC, holla at me!


	20. Chapter 18: No! No! No!

"Hey, Chiaki–chan."

Mioda let Nanami approach, sure, and she didn't cringe _too_ much, but the friendliness was more out of habit than anything genuine. The last thing she needed was to talk to such a likely candidate for the whole 'power–hungry mind–reader' deal. Her Number One Enemy was definitely a final hurdle, and as much as Mioda loved to jump the gun where possible – boss battles came last in games for a _reason. _If Nanami was the mind–reader, then this wasn't a fight she was ready for.

And yet, here she was. Trapped. If she ran, she'd raise suspicion. If she stayed and talked to Nanami, she'd definitely be left wishing she'd spent a few more skill points in lying. As confident as she'd like to be about the whole situation, Mioda _knew _she wasn't good at fibbing, and she _knew _from the trial room that the gamer was good at wringing the truth out of people.

"Hmm..."

The gamer didn't bother to return the greeting; she just tilted her head a little to one side, and came closer still. Mioda shivered in the dim light, feeling even more nervous than when she'd faced down her first proper–sized audience. She was shaking so badly, she'd dropped the microphone; trying to retrieve it, she'd only banged her guitar on the stage. Back then, all she had wanted to do was run from the jeering and the laughter, much like she wanted to run from Nanami right now–

–but she _hadn't._ Mioda had never run from a challenge, no matter how nervous or frightened she happened to be. And she was never going to_, _no matter how tense she was, no matter how many lives were on the line, no matter what happened. Sure, Mioda had little idea how she'd just jumped from recounting bad things to giving herself a pep talk, but that was thinking for you.

"…mnn…"

A friendly(?) reach for her shoulder made the musician flinch. Unlike the earlier cringing, it was obvious enough to be noticed. At least there was no slasher smile or anything horrible like that. The other girl just looked her up and down, then shrugged off her backpack and reached into it. All the while, she was frowning _just_ enough to get Mioda's heart attempting to break the world record for the hundred–metre hurdles.

"…Hey. What are you doing?"

"N–nothing much!" she chirped, keeping the trembling out of her voice as best she could. It wasn't just a matter of pride – if Nanami was the mind–reader, Mioda definitely didn't want her know that they were all alone out here. "Ibuki _totally_ would've used a dot–dot–dot for that, by the way!", she went on. "Because it means 'nothing' , y'know? But – um, Chiaki–chan kind of used the whole day's quota of dot–dot–dots!"

It barely resembled a joke, but Mioda giggled anyway. She was hoping that the other girl might laugh along – even if it was just for politeness's sake, it'd have eased her own fear. Unfortunately, Nanami just kept rummaging through the bag, as though nothing had been said at all.

The musician's shoulders tightened a little, and she hopped from foot to foot, disguising worry as impatience. "…So! Yeah! Hey, heya, hello, bonjour, seasons greetings to Dot–Dot–Dot–chan! And uh, that's a pretty deep backpack. Is Chiaki–chan off on some super–secret–important–side–quest? That, like, _maaaaaybe _has a super–short time limit?"

Once again, she was met with silence – and this time round, she'd run out of things to say. Standing there, with not even acknowledged words between herself and her maybe–an–enemy, Mioda felt all the more uncomfortable. She was fidgeting within seconds, tangling fingers through her hair, shuffling her feet, fiddling with her piercings. The tension had her wound up so much that when the gamer finally drew herself upright and answered, she actually _jumped_.

"Not really. I just wanted to be alone for a while, I think." She had been zipping up the backpack, but as she swung it back over her shoulder, Mioda caught a fleeting, pitying smile. "The trial… wasn't very nice."

Understatement of the _year_, but the musician decided to ignore it, in favour of pursuing that chance to get away. "So, _sooooo,_ Chiaki–chan's saying that Ibuki oughta go away. Riiiiight? So, she can have a great long angsty monologue out here, with no guitar riffs interrupting her. A bit weird – okay, a lot weird, since Ibuki's pretty sure that Chiaki–chan's not the protagonist – but, hey! If _that's_ what she's int–"

"No, it's fine. So, um… What's the book about?"

She said it like it was a perfectly innocent question; even framed it with a sigh just before she said it, and a nodding at the book just after. Maybe it was just a horrible coincidence, but Mioda's first conclusion wasn't along those lines, and it absolutely showed. There was a bizarre gasping noise, and she stood very straight, arms falling to her sides. There was a way out of this situation, she was sure of it. But… but… but… but she wasn't an excuses girl, not at all, _but–_

–she was tired. She was _very _tired. She was _so _very tired, and the question had flustered her, and her overactive imagination was gibbering about what the potential mind–reader might do to her if she was found out– if, _if, _what an awful little word, sounded like a scream choked off. What if Nanami attacked her? What if she poisoned Mioda somehow? What if she _pretended_ to be nice, but in the morning, the brainwasher found herself tied up by the others? She couldn't do anything about the ifs; in her panic, all these nightmares seemed very much possible.

_I can't– what if– I can't– what if!_

"I, uh… um… I–it's about…_ well…_" the musician stalled, finally remembering to tuck the book behind her back.

_What if she **saw?** _

_…Should there even be an 'if' on that one? There's no way she didn't notice!_

She shook her head, trying to clear it a little. There was a way out, there had to be – and there was, it was very simple, she just had to think it through. But even with the narration's best attempts – no, she didn't even see the glaringly obvious solution, didn't think to try and _make _Nanami believe everything was okay. She'd been caught completely off–guard, and now she was caught in an icy fear, equal parts intimidated and surprised. Sure, the gamer had been basically innocent so far, but Mioda had this awful hunch that she was about to be rustled.

_It's so hard to lie. Maybe I should give in._

But, at that moment, right when she was about to give up, explain what she was, and _hope _that maybe this wasn't her sworn enemy after all – well, a seagull flew low over the beach.

There was no goofy moment there, no heroic feathered fiend to the face. No chorus sang out, but with that bird came the best thing Mioda could have asked for – _inspiration_, riding shotgun on dirty grey wings. Her new, and utterly brilliant, idea went like this: Give an alternate title for the book. Maybe, just maybe, Nanami hadn't seen the real topic in the low light; maybe, just maybe, she could be fooled after all.

A demented, awful sort of hope came to life. Nothing was over yet, not while Mioda's will still burned. Taking careful aim at that slither of hope that a lie could set alight, the guitarist flashed a broad grin Nanami's way; hoped it looked okay, even though it felt forced enough to have been more like a general baring of teeth. "Ibuki's book is d–definitely about birds! Parakeets and parrots and parasites! Big birds, little birds, birds with arms, all the birds!"

The gamer held a pause there, and though Mioda would never have admitted it out loud, the quiet frightened her. Silence was something she'd never liked, really – awkward, joyless, devoid of music, devoid of _life_. It was all the naturally chatty girl she could do to hold back herself. She badly wanted to fill the silence, enough that words felt like they were crawling up her throat, tickling and burning in equal measure. All that stopped her from babbling was the thought that she might somehow make the situation even worse. What if she blurted out something that proved she was lying, or revealed her role?

Biting her lip, she stared at the ground. In hindsight, maybe this whole lying thing hadn't been the best idea.

"Please be careful", said Nanami, and the brainwasher's heart skipped a beat. She was now at least eighty–three–point–seven–five percent certain that she was facing down the mind–reader, that they _knew _about her, and she was utterly unprepared. There was no–one to help her out, and no matter how many times she told herself that _Ibuki doesn't need anyone, never has and never will_, she'd have felt an awful lot more comfortable if someone _had _been there. As it was, all she could do was back away from Nanami, her mind clawing for an excuse to leave. So close to being rustled, so close to failing, wanting to run and not being able to_ –_ it felt like the trial all over again, and it felt like it was much too soon.

"Eh?! Why would _Ibuki _have to be careful?" She laughed then, and tried to put as much confidence into it as she could. But her mind was thinking something quite different from what she was saying, something along the lines of _Expletives deleted, I haven't been careful enough, guess the bad girl wins, it's all downhill from here folks, _and it showed. Despite all her efforts in vocal training, Mioda couldn't quite keep the worry and the fear out of things. She shivered in the quiet that followed her words. What she'd just said hadn't sounded brave or assertive in the least, and to her, sound was almost everything. She wasn't dealing at all well–

–but she wouldn't allow herself to just give up. She _couldn't, _not with that pep talk she'd just given herself fresh in her mind_._ Too much was depending on Mioda;_ lives_ could be hanging in the balance here. Sure, she hesitated, thinking a few things that would've made Kuzuryuu go pale. But after that – she didn't back off in the least. Several deep breaths were taken, then she went on. "It's Nagito–chan and Peko–chan who oughta watch out! Like, they got injured and all, yeah? Yeah! So, it could totes happen to them again! Stabbity stab stab! Splish splosh splash! Squick!"

"Mioda." There was a warning there, and it went completely unheeded. It was a stupid move, yelling over the top of the other girl, but Mioda was in blind panic at this point, feeling trapped and cornered. Her general dislike of Nanami's controlling nature wasn't helping much, either – her voice was high with nerves, almost to the point of whiny.

"And! And! And, and, and, aaaaaaaand _meanwhile_, Byakuya–chan's gonna have to go through an entire character arc to redeem himself! Everyone blames him for nearly derailing the case, you know?"

_"Mioda."_

"Or at least, Mahiru–chan totally does, and Ibuki's on board with anything she says, so, _so_ – he's gonna have to go through a friendship fetch quest for at least two people, yeah? Not that Ibuki knows much about games, but if he wants to be leader and all, it'd totally be a game of thrones, which she knows aaaaall abou–"

**_"Mioda!"_**

The exclamation was sharp and loud enough that the brainwasher just about swallowed her tongue, once again left speechless and shaking. As much as she hated the thought that Nanami could guide the conversation, be on top and cut her off whenever she pleased… Well, that's _exactly_ what had just happened. With nothing to be done about it beyond worry, paranoia crept in the wake of her shock: Maybe there were _two _brainwashers on the island, and the other one was standing right in front of her. Or, maybe the book just hadn't been right when it said that the mind–reader couldn't read the brainwasher. Whatever the reason, Nanami was in complete control of what was being said. For someone as used to being as dominant in conversations as Mioda was, the experience was uncomfortable at best, terrifying at worst.

"Th–that's me! What's up?" the brainwasher managed, after a long, dreadful moment. It was much too short and lame a line, but there was a tight feeling in her chest, as though she'd been running for hours on end, as though she'd just been thrown into an icy–cold pool, as though her world was falling apart – _wait, that's not an 'as though', I'm really losing it here–!_

But no – she'd already opted not to run, she'd decided on that an eternity ago. She couldn't change that now; sure, Mioda was _frightened_, but she'd read something about that being totally natural, even for really brave people. She was, after all, the brainwasher, which meant that she was the only thing standing between the mind–reader and the rest of the island. If Nanami was the mind–reader, then it was her role to stop the other girl. She needed to take comfort and courage from this fact, lift her head, and face her enemy head–on.

…Which would be a whole lot easier if the gamer just had _answered_ her earlier, and not stared blankly into the distance, forcing Mioda to try again. Just breathing was hard enough, let alone speaking – but the guitarist wasn't going to give up, not just yet. "L–like, um. Chiaki–chan _does _h–have something to say, right? Did she want to complain about the imminent copyright infringement? Ibuki's not… wasting her time with some kind of dead–end free time event, is she?"

The response she got involved daintily clasped hands, a dreamy smile, several steps in her direction, and an expression that toed the line between stern and gentle. Before her opponent had even said anything, she knew she was in deep, deep trouble.

"Just…" Nanami hesitated.

_Just…_

_…get out of here_.

_Just…_

_…stay out of my way, and my plans._

_Just…_

_…know that the island's not big enough for both of us._

_Just… _

_…run while you can. I'll spare you, but next time round, you're dead meat–!_

_Just…_

"_…_be careful, that's all. I really don't want to find you, say, walking alone on the beach again."

_Just… huh?_

Nanami must have spotted her confusion, since she smiled. "I mean… That's a pretty dangerous thing to do, isn't it?"

Since this wasn't at all the vicious attack the brainwasher had been expecting, she risked a glance up. As soon as their eyes met, that crazed hope flickered again (_just like in a romance novel_, Mioda decided, _only, like, way less romantic_). Maybe Nanami was just normal, after all.

"It'll be fine, Chiaki–chaaaaan!" she beamed. "'Cos, um – Chiaki–chan likes coming here too, right? Soooo, Ibuki can be alone together with her tomorrow morning, right? That'd– that… tha…?

Quite suddenly, she fell silent. It wasn't out of fear, or because Nanami had cut her off yet again – Mioda stood much straighter than she had been, even smiling in the face of her potential worst fear. It wasn't like she'd just run out of things to say, either. The day that happened was the day she figured she'd be retiring from showbiz.

No, no – she had felt their gazes lock.

In a brainwashing sort of way.

At first, she couldn't keep the grin off her face. There was no way now that Nanami could be the mind–reader; much like Souda, there wasn't so much as a low wall to stop the brainwasher from plowing right in. A little confused protesting, but – otherwise, her mind was dead easy to put to sleep. What should have taken minutes only took seconds, too; there didn't seem to be much inside Nanami's head that was at all opposed to taking a nap. Maybe that was because she tended to fall asleep on her feet a lot?

_Okay, Chiaki–chan! Forget all about that convo. It was… pretty awkward and stuff._

**No.**

The brainwasher blinked, but decided to let that one slide. Even Souda had grumbled a little, when she'd first tried to order him around. Maybe this was just a version of that, just a bit louder. _Um, if she's a little nervous about it – it's no biggie? Ibuki'll pick out some parts for Chiaki–chan to remember later. For now, though, Chiaki–chan should forget the whole thing. Okay?_

**No.**

The gamer's gaze was still locked in, and she was even drooling a little. But Mioda had felt something in that abyss lash out twice now – something _big_, something that coincided with twin lightning strikes over the sea – and happiness quickly shifted into unease. She hopped from foot to foot. Maybe she _was_ out of her depth here, after all. Maybe she should stop, while Nanami wasn't entirely aware of what was going on. Maybe her target already knew… but if things turned into an all–out mental battle, and Mioda lost, she would _definitely _know.

And by a similar sort of twisted logic, the brainwasher didn't have a choice but to continue trying. It was hard to just back off and pretend that nothing had happened, when she'd tried to order Nanami around and had been sensed. If she wanted to avoid having to explain everything (and she was all about not having to explain), then the only way forwards was to brainwash the other girl, and do it properly. So, Mioda gathered her resolve as best she could given that she had no real idea how, then tried again.

_Look, Ibuki's doing this for everyone's good – and hey, she's pretty good at being good! Soooo – Chiaki can leave all her problems with Ibuki to be fixed up, all right?_

**It's not all right. _I won't let you._**

Since those italics just about hissed with raw power, the brainwasher was expecting to be shoved back. Ehat she wasn't expecting was the harshness of it. Nanami made it look easy, graceful, even _simple_ – she frowned, and looked over at the ocean. To Mioda, it felt as though she'd simultaneously been slapped and watched her best friend get hit by one of those bullet trains; a sudden, painful jerk that left her breathless and utterly lost, head and heart pounding. Hell, it even happened fast enough to get a gasp out of her.

Nanami chewed at her lip, watching the waves. "That'd what?"

"Eh? That'd _what_, Chiaki–chan?"

"That'd what."

Mioda blinked. Nanami blinked back. Something prickled at the back of the guitarist's neck.

"Uhhhhh. Chiaki–chan, Ibuki's kinda got the memory of a goldfish. When there's these super–duper–long paragraphs, even though everything in 'em happened super–fast – anyway, it gets really confusing…."

The other girl yawned, then heaved a long–suffering sigh, glancing her way. Challenging, almost. Mioda shivered in response to it, and tried to find something interesting about her shoes. "You wanted to be 'alone together' at the beach. With me. Tomorrow morning. And you said that'd– that… tha…?"

"That'd _what?_"

"…Yeah, exactly. You stopped there." She frowned a little. "Mioda, you seem a little out of it. Are you all right?"

"_Oh–!_ Yeah, Ibuki's fine. She was just gonna say, it'd be totally safe _and _angsty if she was alone together with Chiaki–chan! So, yep. Does she wanna do it, or is Chiaki–chan chiaken? Ibuki came up with that one herself."

There _was_ something interesting about her shoes, actually; or at least, the area just in front of them. Nestled in the sand was a bell. It was partially melted (and from the looks of things, still smoldering), but – it still _kind of _looked like something she'd seen before. She squinted at it, wondering what it might be.

Nanami shuffled her feet. "So long as nothing's happened."

"Great, great! Ibuki had better get to back so she doesn't miss breakfast and all, but – um, at five thirty–awesome tomorrow morning, Chiaki–chan can meet Ibuki in her cabin! That way, they'll be safe even when they're walking over! Simple but awesome, hmm?"

As far as Mioda's plans went, this one was indeed simple, and she felt pretty awesome about it. All she had to do to get ready for the trap was to re–brainwash Souda and Tsumiki again, and read that book. With a few brainwashed people and a ton of knowledge on her side, she should be able to keep the gamer from getting out of the cabin, and find out how to get her to stop resisting as well. Getting hold of Nanami at five–thirty in the morning would give Mioda hours before anyone else woke up. Overall, this was looking to be almost perfe–

"Hang on… No, I can't do it. Something's happened, I'm sorry."

Again, bad news cut through her happy celebrating, and again, Mioda caught herself thinking all manner of nasty words. Her heart wasn't just pounding anymore; it appeared to have skipped the hammering phase, and was now imitating heavy machinery. Or possibly heavy metal, with just a hint of industrial metal – whatever it was doing, it was about as loud and panicked as its owner's voice.

"No? _No?!_" she repeated, her voice squeaking in panic. "Nada? Nil? Zilch? Non? But, but – Ibuki doesn't want Chiaki–chan going out on the beach alone! Unfair _and _dangerous!"

Looking up, she didn't seem to be the only one who was rattled. Nanami's hands were shaking, and she'd gone very pale. For whatever reason, her gaze was completely fixed on the melted bell–thing; she took one slow step back, then another. "Bad", she mumbled, then shook her head, flipped her hood up, and raised her voice. "I'm sorry. It's just, if someone saw us together… that'd look really suspicious, I think. I should go. Now."

She turned away, and Mioda blinked in some confusion. Even though she'd had the upper hand for nearly the whole conversation, everything about Nanami's body language seemed to indicate _fear._ "E–eh?! All of a sudden, Chiaki–chan's going chicken–chan! Forget Ibuki forgetting one tiny thingyummy – is Chiaki–chan sure _she's_ okay?"

"Remember how I told you to be careful? Well… I think I have to be careful, too." She reached down, picking up the smoldering Whatever–It–Was.

And Nanami started walking.

_I have to deal with her! She has to know my role – that's why she's running away! If I don't stop her, this could be really bad!_

"But… _but… b–buuuuuuuuuut…"_

But, Mioda couldn't argue.

But, she didn't have the strength – didn't have the nerve, didn't have the courage to challenge Nanami right now. She hung her head, sneaking the occasional death glare in at the other girl's back. There had to be a way out, something she could say to get a decent outcome out of this whole mess.

_But,_ as hard as she thought…

"…okay, Chiaki–chan."

Just for now, Mioda slumped her shoulders, and walked in the opposite direction to her enemy.

Beaten? Sort of, though she'd never actually admit it. To the musician, that was almost as bad as giving up.

Ashamed? Definitely.

**_But._**

She was determined; she was desperate; most of all, she was competitive. In the morning – the _proper_ morning, not this weird, cold time where the sun was just coming up and the birds raising hell a short distance away – she would go after Nanami again, and again, and again, until she won.

This kind of loss would not happen again.

* * *

**A/N:** Only one perspective for this chapter, because it got so long! Koizumi's side of things is a similar length, so you can expect to see a whole chapter of her before the format returns to normal.

Whiiiiich is probably good, b/c_ wowwwwww Mioda, how did you manage to be serious for a whole chapter, I thought that was Koizumi's job_, ect ect. At least when we last left everyone's fave photographer, she was off to see Hanamura. Ought to be a fun chapter, mmn?


	21. Chapter 19: Holla! Holla!

**A/N:** Last chapter with weird one-person perspective, then I promise we're back to two-person! I hope you've all enjoyed this, it's been a fun change to focus on my main characters in more depth than usual.

* * *

Of _course_ she was still worried about what awful, awful things could wind up in her head. It would have been insane to not worry; Hanamura's mind was likely to be _filthy_, and she wasn't allowed to look at all horrified. That would be a dead giveaway. Still, when Koizumi reached the restaurant, there was no hesitation. She was too far gone for that – she'd rushed past the point of no return somewhere on the stairs – so she picked her way around the edge of the room. It felt distinctly odd, coming here in the morning and seeing no–one, but she tried to brush off her unease as best she could.

_He has to be around somewhere, right? Then I can get answers…_

She didn't see Hanamura at first, and was half–expecting to have to get down on her hands and knees to search, given how short he was and how tall the tables were. Ironically enough, all it took was a glance _up _– the kitchen door was wide open. She could see faint white smoke drifting from it, and as she came closer, heard a humming, threading its way over and under the rattling of metal and plastic.

The high–pitched tune _did _sound a little girly, and the idea that Mioda was setting fire to the place crossed her mind, but as she approached the place, she dismissed it – _whatever_ was going on in there, the end result smelled amazing. Mind–reading aside, the photographer didn't exactly have supernatural senses (she thought of Owari and her almost bestial nose, shuddered and pushed it away). However, she could at least say that there were spices in the air, mixed with salt and grease – not too little, not too much. With a mouth watering, Koizumi picked up the pace, taking a more direct route that involved skirting tables, and pushing the odd chair out of her way. Maybe she could talk Hanamura into letting her have a taste – she hadn't eaten since the party, and god lone knew how long she'd been asleep for.

It took a bit of coughing and waiting in the doorway, but eventually the chef realized she was standing there. He came rushing out from behind a stove much too tall for him, and–

_Something's wrong. _

Koizumi wouldn't have had to read Hanamura's thoughts to know that much, since his appearance was little like what he usually wore on the island. His uniform was crumpled, the pompadour leaning even further to the left than usual. At least the chef was smiling, and his hands were above his head, a comb clutched in one. But – well, there didn't seem to be any progress with the hair situation, and his grin didn't reach his eyes.

Speaking of eyes, one glance down told her everything she already knew: Hanamura was about as stressed as he looked. In a matter of seconds, thoughts, feelings, sentences, and images had piled up in a near–incomprehensible display of worry. Though Koizumi couldn't make sense of most of the images and tangents that blazed by, the overall tone was very anxious. When he went to speak, his voice was strained and high:

"Ahhh, you caught yours truly at work! However, I really should not be working at a time like this. If you catch my drift, aheh – won't you remind me how to play?"

This was exactly what she'd feared: Koizumi now had multiple images of _that _to deal with, each more graphic than the last. For nearly a full minute, she was silent, trying not to think about _that_ – but of course, the more the photographer tried, the more she focused on it. The more she hesitated as a result, the more Hanamura seemed to think might actually been into _that_, and the more fanciful his thoughts became. After all, if Koizumi was into _that_, then she might also be into _that_ (read: something the photographer was dead sure only existed in poorly written fan fiction). With further hesitation came the logical conclusion that she could also be a huge fan of _that, _despite _that _being something she wasn't even aware anyone could have a thing for. Which led into another, even worse brand of _that_, and from there–

One eyebrow wiggled. "Please. I'm_ begging_ you."

_–ohdeargodthiswasactuallysuchabadidea–_

"I'm… I'm afraid I don't have a clue what you're on about", she managed, trying not to gag as she said it. In reality, Koizumi had far more of a clue than the pervert thought she did – but if he knew, he'd get the wrong idea. Since she wasn't about to tell him she could read minds, the only logical explanation for Hanamura would be that she was into every kink in existence.

_And that… that would end badly._

"Hey, so. Um. I just woke up. Can you tell me how long I was asleep?"

The answer was sensed a good few seconds before he said it, and the resultant inner screaming to _run _was tough to ignore. She'd definitely have liked to get out before he could think anything else horrifying her way. But – it would have looked odd if Koizumi had asked a question and then sprinted for the door. Gritting her teeth, she waited, watching Hanamura start to dig at his hair with the comb.

"You only slept a night. Now, I might have considered waking you with a kiss, since you are quite a beauty–" and here, a mental image that had Koizumi wishing that she had never become an involuntary mind–reader in the first place – "but I wasn't aware! A truly sad consequence of going… ohoho… _all night long._" He gestured to the kitchen, a movement that made him sway on his feet.

"I see", the photographer muttered, and wasn't exactly lying there. Even though he was exhausted – well, whenever Hanamura said something, he always thought the implications through in ridiculous amounts of detail. There was a montage in his head right now, and between it and what she could understand of the voiceover, the guy had pushed himself for hours with only short naps in between dishes. There was no real pattern to what he'd been doing, no theme or rhythm. There were entrees followed by desserts followed by cheap burgers, and not even Hanamura could explain why he had picked those things in that order.

"Still – now you are awake, I suppose I could go a little longer. For you."

Koizumi winced at the imagery, curiosity the only thing that kept her trying to read the chef's mind. "I don't think so. I mean – you look exhausted. Why did you stay up so long?"

"When an island of beautiful girls are involved, sleep is for the weak!" Hanamura said – and _thank god_, his mind said something quite different. If it had agreed wholeheartedly with that particular pickup line, Koizumi may well have given up on the whole stealth aspect of mind–reading, and run out of the hotel screaming. But no, the chef simply enjoyed making his dishes, so much that he kind of lost himself in it.

_…Is this what they call 'comfort food'? _

In a sense, the word was right. He wasn't eating it, but he'd been taking comfort in making it. While he'd been working, Hanamura's thoughts had flitted away from the terrible thing that had happened last night, and become lost in a vortex of careful measurements and observations. When it wasn't numbers, he'd been going over lengthy inner speeches about the beauty of food, the sparkle of an unscaled fish, how hot sauce on a taco reminded him of– _whoa, too much info._ Sure, the horror of the trial had chewed on Hanamura all the same, but he'd found some way of coping. It was almost admirable how well it had worked out, if you excused the awful monologues.

"Hm–hm. Yes. Well, then… erm..."

That was what made the present situation all the harder to look at. Hanamura's mind was tired, lurching from topic to topic about as much as he was swaying. With no food to distract him, and an almost eerie quiet between the two of them, his mind soon focused on exactly what he'd been trying to avoid most of the night.

It started like this – _I wish it had been different – _ and then without warning, he started jumping between equally vivid scenarios at a frightening pace. This was exactly where Koizumi should have closed her eyes and blocked as much of it as she could, but she'd been caught off–guard, and wound up swept away in the moment, then another moment, and then there were these awful, awful seconds where she was actually living through those alternate endings.

_If only I_ (he) _hadn't taken the bottle from the kitchen – if only I'd_ (he'd) _argued harder for my_ (his) _execution_ _– if only_ _I'd_ (he'd) _taste–tested the sauce before putting it anywhere near my _(his)_ precious food_ _– if only_ _I'd_ (he'd) _never trusted anyone, not even a princess_ _I'd _(he'd) _really have liked to– if only I'd_ (he'd) _killed myself _(himself) _to save everything_–_if _if **if**_–_

How could Hanamura have dealt with this kind of thinking all night long, and _still _not have said a word to anyone? The mind–reader couldn't take it for a full minute before she was speaking, her voice high and panicked. "It wasn't your fault, you know. I mean – Sonia brought the poison into the party, right? Sure, you put it on the table and that's how Owari ended up dead, but it's still not..."

_…oh my god, I'm an **idiot.**_

Hanamura's head shot up at that, and he stopped humming. One awkward glance into his wide eyes confirmed it: he knew something very strange had just happened, something that he didn't understand at all, and his thoughts were descending into ugly, strangely–accented chaos. While he scrambled for a theory that'd make any amount of sense, it was Koizumi's turn to think things best not repeated here.

Why on earth or under it had she gone and said _that?_ Up to about three minutes ago, all the photographer had wanted to do was to get away from Hanamura, his airs, his 'jokes', and of course the… _images_… his mind tended to conjure up. She had gotten what she was after; she could and should have been back in her cabin by now. Logically, Koizumi had zero reason to have hung around, let alone landed herself in this kind of situation. Hell, this wasn't even a person she wanted to reveal her role to. A Hanamura who knew about her ability was every bit as awful as a Hanamura who was a brainwasher or mind–reader himself. He'd definitely pester her to do things with her ability, and not good, saving–everyone–on–the–island sort of things.

_But_, screamed everything against the usual logic,_ mind–reading isn't like reading a book. If I don't like it, I can't just put it down and walk away!_ And this was right, as well; what Koizumi was sensing wasn't fictional. These were the thoughts, dreams, and fears of other humans – _my own classmates _ – and her first impulse on sensing something completely awful was to try and help. Ignoring them was kind of like walking right past her classmates if they were having an obvious panic attack or nervous breakdown. If Koizumi wanted to keep her moral compass intact, she _had _to help – even if doing so was going to ruin her façade.

"_Did_ I say something about–?" Hanamura mumbled under his breath, bringing her back to the present. He hopped from foot to foot, glancing up at her occasionally. "I… I really don't think I did."

His theories about what had just happened were getting stranger (and ironically, closer to the truth), but this really wasn't the time to be examining his mind. Koizumi closed her eyes, trying to clear her mind as best she could. After all, if she was to get lost in his constant images and babbling monologues all over again, he might actually stumble on the correct answer. She needed to cut him off, and fast.

_Okay, but how?_

Options presented themselves. With little time to think anything through, her thought process rushed past each one, barely considering them beyond _in _or _out. _Turning and running was out, knocking him unconscious was definitely out, and as for that one option that involved a bowl of noodles, a pen, and a toaster – well, she doubted even Mioda would have the courage to try it. That left lying, and as much as she didn't like trying to lie, it was either that or get caught out by Hanamura. Sure, he couldn't be the brainwasher, but if there was one thing worse than a Hanamura who could brainwash, it was a Hanamura who knew about her ability, and wanted her to use it for less–than–noble purposes.

"Uh, _well – _they said something about it in the trial, right? How you took the poison bottle out of the kitchen? And when you said you pulled that all–nighter, I wondered why, and it just seemed really obvious." Here, Koizumi remembered that she should probably have her eyes open while talking. "Sorry for asking, I guess? I wasn't thinking."

Surprisingly, Hanamura's mind seemed to clear. Sure, simple explanations working on such a fancy guy didn't seem quite right, and sure, there was _something _bad that flitted through his thoughts, too fast to be caught or analyzed beyond 'vaguely bad'. But, hey – at least the guy relaxed, and better still, didn't start monologuing angrily about mind–readers. Koizumi let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding, feeling her shoulders sag in relief.

_Problem solved, let's get out of here. The less I have to talk to this creep, the better._

"Aha! So, under that fiery exterior, you're really the kind and caring type?" He started fiddling with his hair again, and it was all the photographer could do not to cringe at the sort of one–liners he was dreaming up. "Well, might I interest you in a little _ass–sisting _me with my problem? We could talk it over a hot coffee… Actually, I have several buns in the oven. If you aided me, I'd just have to turn up the heat, and – you follow, yes?"

And just like that, the tension was back; as delicious as that kitchen smelled, Koizumi blanched at the non–bakery–related images that came barging into her mind. His request wasn't _at all_ about culinary help. The poor girl really wasn't sure whether to be grateful for the mind–reading's helpful alert, or horrified at what 'buns in the oven' meant in Hanamura–ese. Both options seemed valid.

"Uh, I'll pass. I mean, I brought it up, and you just said it's a problem, so we probably should talk about it"– she hesitated here, a lump in her throat until Hanamura's latest mental picture pushed her in the right/wrong direction– "_but_, um. You look pretty busy with the cooking and everything, and I'm pretty tired, and – I'll see you at breakfast, okay?" She should have walked away without waiting for an answer. He deserved it, thinking those sorts of things about her. And yet, she paused yet again, mostly because the guy's spirits had just plummeted through the floor. Offering him help, then taking it away like that, just because she didn't appreciate his attempts at seducing her or whatever… It was kind of cruel, wasn't it–? Even if he was perverted, Hanamura was still _human_, and still _hurting_.

_Leaving him like this… is that really the best choice–?_

"Oh. So, you're not that caring after all… What a shame, what a shame." Hanamura looked hurt, and if he hadn't been kicking himself inwardly over his lack of a good pickup line, Koizumi would have felt far worse about what she'd just done. As it was, she was frustrated that sex was seemingly all that was on this guy's mind, and her temper only flared at the notion that he was still trying to make a move on her. She stared at him, but unfortunately he seemed to be taking the eye–contact as a come–on; he took a step, running the comb through his hair at a frenetic pace.

"I–I would have _loved _to talk with you all night long, you know. And you… definitely would have loved it. All night long."

_That does it–!_

"For god's sake, Hanamura!" she snapped. "Two people died last night, and _you think you're responsible_ – but as soon as anyone tries to help you, all you've got are bad pickup lines?! Give me a break. I'm sorry I ever bothered with what I said, all right? Great. Good. _Wonderful._" He was wounded by that, and though the photographer could feel it as she took a breath, she was nowhere near done. All the pain she had felt during the trial, all the anger for the brainwasher she'd had cooped up – it was all coming out here and now, insults she'd barely used before absolutely flying. "You know what? I hope you die next, you disgusting, perverted _douchewad!_ I, for one, am not going to miss you! Moron! Dumbass! You– you complete and utter misogynist! You're definitely gonna die next, and no–one here's gonna give a damn, because guess what – _we don't like creepy people! _It's not attractive! It's weird! Got that?!"

Koizumi stood there for a long moment, what she'd just said sinking in – then she was shaking, and realized Hanamura was trembling as well, his thoughts were flooding into her head, bewildered and apologetic and _hurting, _and it all became a thousand times worse. He hadn't expected her to snap just from a couple of raunchy lines, and… and she hadn't either.

_But, here we are. I just said I wished he was dead._

**_Smooth._**

"K–Koizumi. What's… wrong with you, huh? _Huh?!" _ And quite suddenly, the guy had gone from a wimpy sort of upset to an angry sort of upset, suspicions suddenly racing through his mind. Koizumi felt the blood drain from her face as she stepped back, relying on his thoughts to decipher the increasingly thick accent. "Firs' th'whole weirdo brainwash'r thang, an'now y'doin' thi'?! Y'crazy?! Y'crazy, an'– an'– hey, are y'plannin' on offin' me'r'somethin'?! L–lurin' ma'ass righ' in, all proper like, an' then–"

"_First the whole weird brainwasher thing, and now you're doing this? Are you crazy? You're **crazy**, and– and – are you planning to kill me? Luring me in, pretending to be nice, and then…"_

_…and then… _

He drew the comb across his throat, and forget about the pitching–a–tent–with–Hanamura stuff; the montage of Koizumi murdering the chef was far, far worse. She started babbling, just to try and make him stop thinking about it, stop advancing on her, backing her across the restaurant, stop making images of his brutal death at her hands slink into her head. "No! _No! _I– I just wasn't thinking, s–so I said– _I didn't mean it, okay?!_" The photographer fumbled for the right words, and found exactly zero of them. Hanamura had so much going on in his head right now, it was impossible to please every last one of them, especially not when he wasn't interested in being pleased.

"Crazy mur'rer! Ge' outta my kit'chen! _M'_res'aurant! An' don'hollaback at me, 'til hell freezesov'r!"

To Koizumi's credit, she didn't "holla back" at him, just hunched her shoulders and left. He was just angry… he was just tired and not thinking right… there was_ just _a kitchen nearby, with knives and worse all close to hand. He needed space; or at least, the mind–reader was desperate for it. So, Koizumi left as calmly as she could – didn't cry, didn't whimper, didn't run, and didn't do all of the above until after she'd made it down the stairs and he'd slammed the kitchen door. And even then, she only did that for a short distance.

…Not that the last item was much to be proud of, since it was more Mioda's fault for sitting on the floor than Koizumi's exhibiting any self–control. But – well, with Hanamura's accusation ringing in her ears and mind, and her face now half–buried in the carpet, she had to cling to whatever pride she had left. So, she pretended that she had quite deliberately dived for the floor for some reason that would become very clear in the next few seconds, and no–one – _no–one – _was going to know about it.

The guitarist wasn't really helping in that respect, reminding Koizumi of the actual situation with her attempts to wriggle out. "_Whoaaaa!_ Ibuki's gotta skip all the usual greeting thingies – hi, holla forwards, nice to trip you – 'cos she definitely heard someone screaming blue murder about, like, murder! They sounded kind of like a cowboy, only Ibuki's drop–dead–gorgeously sure Gundam–chan isn't that kind of animals person, so… Waiiiiiit a sec. _Wait a sec! _Is it, like, someone new? Is there a secret Super–High–School–Level Hot Cowboy in the kitchen?! ?"

If the photographer wasn't pretty sure she'd hit her head, she would definitely have blamed her headache on all that high–pitched yelling. As Mioda finally managed to get out from under her, trilling wildly about either hot cowboys or Koizumi's own health, she simultaneously wanted to slap and hug the adorable annoyance, but did neither. The mind–reader was too tired for those things, too tired to tell the unlucky witness to go away, too selfish; though of course she tried to make that last one sound a little more reasonable, even as she allowed herself to be helped up. It wasn't _reeeeally_ selfishness – it was just that there was no sense in ticking off the one person on the island who seemed to want to help and trust her.

"I'm fine, Mioda." She heaved a sigh, prying Mioda's hand from her shoulder. "And there's no–one new. I just… kind of made Hanamura angry, so I'm banned from the restaurant. _But –_ please don't worry about it, okay? I don't really mi–"

"_Oh Ibuki's god!_" the guitarist butted in, arms flailing. "Ibuki's soooo worried, that exclamation made absolutely zero sense. That's right – even to Ibuki!"

Koizumi frowned, somehow managing to get a response in before the tangent could go any further. "Hey, I told you not to worry. We don't all have to get along, and if he's going to be like that–"

"Ohhh? Is that so? Well, let Ibuki think looong and har– _nope!_" Mioda giggled at her own interruption, and though fleeting, it was as infectious as ever. The photographer couldn't help but smile back, giving the musician a cue to go on. "'Cos, like… Um, if Ibuki doesn't sort this out, Mahiru–chan's gonna starve, and then she'll be chewing up the furniture, or the nearest available guy– or girl, whichever way she swings– and then someone's gonna get rekt, and it's gonna be super–high–school–level bad! Ibuki'll have to bring out the serious face, and no–one'll have any fun!"

"You? _Sort this out…?"_ Koizumi shook her head that, barely registering the rest of the rant; it probably wasn't that important anyway. "Mioda, no. I mean, I appreciate it, but I'm pretty sure I'm the only one who can really make it up with Hanamura. I shouldn't have told you."

"Well, it's too late for that now!" the musician grinned, taking her hand and skipping towards the door. "Aaaand besides, Mahiru–chan's totally underestimating friendship power on this one. Thanks to Ibuki, Teruteru–chan'll be letting Mahiru–chan back into the kitchen in no time at all!"

"Mioda, you don't understand! What we were fighting about was really serious."

"_Au contraire_, Ibuki totally gets it! And she totally gets what's needed, too!"

With that, the hotel door was quite suddenly closed and also behind them, and Koizumi was dragged towards the cabins. Whether it was Mioda's den or her own they were headed for, the photographer wasn't entirely sure – they were directly opposite each other – but she hoped fervently that if it was hers, she hadn't left the book out in the open. The whole Ibuki Mioda versus Teruteru Hanamura issue was bad enough, never mind the extra problems that would come with the guitarist finding out what she was.

"What's needed?" she asked after several stomach–churning seconds, but the only reply she got was a wink. "Hey, you have to tell me. If it's dangerous or something–"

"Oh, no, nononononono!" the guitarist laughed, finally letting Koizumi go on the porch of the photographer's cabin. "As in _no_, it's not dangerous, and _nononononono_, it's a surprise, soooo Ibuki doesn't have to tell! But it's gonna be, like, the best breakfast ever. Ibuki'll make sure of that!"

And before Koizumi could object, Mioda had rushed into her own cabin, the door closing so fast that there was a whoosh of air.

_God… **Now**_ _what?_


	22. Chapter 20: Expletive Deleted

"Good morning! Let's get ready to greet another bear–yoo–tiful day!"

Mioda scowled, glaring up from her book. She really wasn't much of a reader – she'd kept on getting distracted by the noises outside her cabin. The soundproofing was no real match for the musician's amazing hearing. Things sounded muffled and distorted, sure, but that only distracted her even more. There had been a weird thumping noise earlier, and what sounded like a bird gangland war taking place, and Koizumi was pacing in the cabin right opposite hers, and the sea _never_ shut up, and… well, Mioda only managed five boring pages in the hour or so she'd had. Definitely not 'the whole book' she'd been hoping for; not even half.

On top of that, today wasn't going to be bear–yoo–tiful so much as stressful. Her goals for the day were four times what they'd been back on the beach, where though she had felt a whole lot more messed up, things had been a whole lot simpler. She now had to, in no particular order:

**a)** Read the rest of the brainwashing manual  
**b)** Sort out the whole ugly Koizumi–Hanamura situation  
**c)** Figure out how to explain everything to her very best friend, or at least put to rest her fears over the brainwasher… _without _letting Koizumi know what she was, in case the mind–reader decided to have a poke around in her head  
**d)** Take on Nanami before she could do whatever she was planning

And all the while, she needed to be on full alert if she wanted to stop more deaths, especially with Monobear around. After all, she didn't have anyone brainwashed right now. And as much as she had mixed feelings about using them, _especially _Hinata, this was a time where Mioda could do with a few sentries.

"Ummm, so… What first–?"

"Open up! Now!"

A loud knock made up her mind: She wasn't going to do any of the above things. Stuffing the manual under her bed, Mioda rushed over, and flung the door wide.

"Hi, hiya, heyoooooohhhhhhh no! Byakuya–chan looks _awful!_ It's an Ibukimergency!" She wasn't lying there – not–Togami's hair was plastered against his head, his eyes were wide, and he was breathing hard.

_And– is that **blood?**_

"As I s–said before, I am… not a Byakuya–anything," the heir began, and he said something else, but Mioda wasn't really listening. This was her chance to do everything differently from last night, make up things with Togami, make him _believe _what was happening and stop putting her best friend down. She lunged forwards, and despite the weight difference, managed to drag him in and sit him on the bed. It didn't matter that there was blood all over his trousers – the more off–guard Mioda had him, the better her chances.

"Sooo, what's right? Since Thingy–chan looks like there's a whole lot wrong, Ibuki thought that'd be a shorter explanation," she babbled, putting an arm around his shoulder – basically, trying to hide the fact that she was racking her brains for an excuse to get his glasses off. It wasn't that she _reeeeeeeally_ wanted to brainwash him right now (well maybe, kind of, because of last night). The real issue was that she had no idea how to look someone in the eyes and _not _wind up going into brainwasher mode. Mioda just locked in naturally; and Togami's glasses were a major risk. "C'mon, cheer up! The sun's shining, and birds are singing, and even if Ibuki's singing voice is a whole lot better than those chicks, they're making a Super–High–School–Level Effort! On days like these, not–heirs like you ought to be–"

"_Mioda!_" Togami finally pushed her away, and there was enough iron and urgency in his voice to make her shut up. He stood, shoulders heaving as he tried to catch his breath. "Listen closely. I want you to run, a–and… find Tsumiki. I do not know where she is, but b–bring her straight here. Be loud about it, I want everyone searching. And be quick about it. You skinny people are… you're supposed to be fast, y–yes?"

"Ehhh?! But– hey! Heeeeey!_ Heyyeyaaeyaaaeyaeyaa! _Don't just strut off like that, however cool it looks! Ibuki wants all the goss! Seriously, what's going on?!"

Togami closed his eyes for a long moment, pressing his hands together as though he was in prayer, and just for once, Mioda didn't interrupt. She'd never seen him this stressed before, this close to losing control – there was something frightening about it. Whatever he was freaking out over, it had to be _bad_. Though she waited for an answer, the musician couldn't stop herself from worrying.

"It's Pekoyama. I… I found her." He stopped, shaking his head, and something cold trickled down the back of Mioda's neck. Togami _never _missed a chance to inform, even if it was more because of his ego than because he was a nice person. "Th–this will take too long to explain. I shall stay with her, just– just get help!"

He rushed out, Mioda following and trying desperately not to panic. "Byakuya–chan, wait up! What's wrong with– aaaaaiiiiiieeeeeee!"

"Go on!" Togami roared, crouching over Pekoyama like some kind of overweight Grim Reaper. His bulk was blocking most of the awful scene, but Mioda could still see the blood_. _It was splattered all over the porch of Pekoyama's cabin; the swordswoman was lying at the bottom of the steps, quite still. "Don't just stand there!"

But Mioda hesitated. Not because she didn't want to help, but – maybe she could help more. She'd just been reading the book, and even though she hadn't made it through much stuff she didn't already know, her thoughts were still half–focused on it.

_If I controlled her, could I… maybe stop the bleeding? Wake her up? Keep her breathing?_

To her panicking mind, the last one seemed plausible, if she could just get Pekoyama's eyes open. "Hold on a second! Ibuki, uh – Ibuki totally did a first aid–class this one time! Definitely! So, she could, like, totally, completely, and utterly safely look after–"

"You're not helping", Togami growled, then he turned and _glared_, and all Mioda's protests crawled straight back down her throat. "She needs Tsumiki! Run!"

"Yessir!" Mioda yelled, charging past the two of them and straight down the path between the cabins the cabins. At every door, she shrieked for the nurse, then thumped at the wood before rushing on. It felt like an age before she was done with every cabin, but eventually Mioda slammed a hand into Tanaka's door, picked a direction at random, and was sprinting off.

"Mikan–chan! _Mikan–chan!_"

She burst out the gates of the hotel, or resort, or whatever she was supposed to call the place, yelling at the top of her lungs. "A–a bad thing's happened, come quick – Mikan–chan! Where are you?! I–Ibuki could play a theme song for her, only it'd totally be copyright infringement, and – hey! Mikan–chan! If you can hear me, call back!" The musician took a shaky breath, listening.

But all she heard were frightened shouts from the cabins, and nothing that sounded like Tsumiki, and this was about when she remembered that Nanami was wandering somewhere around here, and what if something had happened, or was happening, or was about to happen, and–

_–no, I'm gonna keep going!_

For Togami, and Tsumiki, and Pekoyama and Koizumi and everyone else, she had to keep moving. Mioda swallowed back fear and tears, and jogged across the bridge to the main island, calling out as much as she could. If something had happened to Tsumiki, she was going to help; if Nanami attacked them, she would _fight. _"N–not, like, call Ibuki – see, third person, everything's gonna be fine – on her nonexistent phone, although that'd kind of work– anyway! Don't do that, Mikan–chan. Just yell if Ibuki's feels are reaching you too. Or – even just if she can hear Ibuki's voice, that'd also be fine! C'mon, c'mon… wait, hold on."

The Monobeast guarding the second island had been gone ever since Mioda had blown up, but the metal gate over that particular bridge had always remained firmly closed. Technically, it _was_ still closed – but a large chunk had been torn out of the middle, leaving a smoldering gap large enough to walk through. The musician wondered briefly whether or not Tsumiki could have mustered up enough courage to go somewhere she might not have been supposed to be, and decided that there was just no way–

"AAIIIIIEEEEE! I–it's a _bridge ghost!"_

"U–um… I d–don't think that's possible…"

–well, unless she had gone with someone else–

"You're still going on about that? Seriously? Come on, let's just get back and tell everyone–"

"No, really! I swear, I saw its horns!"

"T–tell me… D–did you eat any mushrooms b–before we left–?"

–or _several_ someones, and as Mioda charged across the bridge, three figures came into view. They were just silhouettes in the morning fog at first, but they soon became sharper. She suspected from the voices who was there – but after running for what felt like forever, she had the confirmation she desperately needed. Relief hit her like a tidal wave, hard enough that Mioda actually stood there for a long moment. There was Tsumiki, who was going to fix everything. Behind her, Hinata was trying to haul Souda into walking across the bridge. All three of them felt like old friends, even though she'd only known them a few days; probably a side effect of poking around in their brains.

Tsumiki broke the quiet with a single step and a mumbled 'hello', and the musician threw herself forwards for a hug, Someone was laughing, and it took a moment for Mioda to register that was _her_, since she sounded nothing like herself; very high, very strained.

"_Helloooooo_", she just about screamed from her position in the nurses' arms. "Ibuki's so happy she found Mikan–chan, she's gotta come and help, something really bad's happened and Ibuki's so happy, only not about something really bad happening of course!" Finally taking a breath, Mioda changed tack, pulling at Tsumiki's arm. "C'mon, c'mon!"

There wasn't any time to ask why the three had apparently been exploring the new island before the announcement had gone off. But as they all raced back towards the lodge, Mioda didn't particularly care. She was with her friends, she'd found Tsumiki, and everything was going to be just fine.

_Nothing can go wrong now! We're gonna make it!_

* * *

"Okay, so what the f–"

Of all the reactions to the whole horrible Pekoyama thing, Kuzuryuu's was the worst. He had stormed out of the cabin in a huff and an immaculate suit, growling about how some idiot had just about kicked his door in. But then–

_"Peko!_"

And in just one word, all of Kuzuryuu's anger had drained from his face, along with most of the colour. Shoving aside Togami as best he could, he knelt next to the swordswoman – actually, scratch that, he fell. He was shaking all over, and kept passing a hand over his eyes. Watching him, Koizumi felt a lump in her throat, and had to look away. If Hanamura's pain had been like a wave, this guy's agony was like a _tsunami_. If she kept watching, Koizumi would definitely wind up outing her role in front of him, Komaeda, _and_ Togami, and possibly go mad from grief in the process.

"Not now! You can't go, you're not going, not after you came so fucking close, you goddamned tease– hey, do you hear me? _Hey!_ Wake up already!"

At this, Komaeda finally left his porch. For most of the action, he'd been leaning against the rail, observing them all with a lazy eye. There was something unsettling about that, but it wasn't like he was close enough for Koizumi to read his mind and put her own at ease. "Oh… Are you disappointed that the stairs beat you?" Strolling up behind, he patted Kuzuryuu on the back. "Now, now, don't despair! Use this to make the _next_ stepping stone to your hope shine all the more! I'd be more than happy to help, by the way."

Koizumi had no real idea what he was on about. When Komaeda talked like that, his words sometimes took a while to sink in – and glancing over at Togami, she found him to be about as confused. But Kuzuryuu seemed to get it straight away; the gangster's shoulders twitched, and his teeth ground together loud enough that she flinched back. "That's not it! I just… I just, after all the _shit _she went through last night…"

There was a definite sob there; Komaeda somehow took this to mean that he should start insulting the poor guy. Koizumi didn't know what the logic was on that one, and didn't particularly want to know. "Huh, that's funny. I thought you were a yazuka? Who, I don't know, killed people? This doesn't seem very Super–High–School–Level of you."

Naturally, Kuzuryuu started shouting things that could have made a hungry piranha flee the scene, and the taller of the two combatants stood and listened, throwing in the odd insult just to fuel the screaming. Watching them, Koizumi had to admit that Komaeda _did_ have a point – it was kind of odd to see the guy so compassionate. All she'd seen from Kuzuryuu so far had been anger and violence… or at least, a whole lot of talk about being angry and violent, and no actual plans or murder attempts. Whether or not that just was because other people had just beaten him to it was anyone's guess.

But after how amazingly she'd done with the whole Hanamura thing, Koizumi didn't dare try and rifle through Kuzuryuu's thoughts. What use was it? She already felt bad enough about the situation, and knowing _what _he was thinking wasn't about to do her – or Pekoyama – much good. Not that Koizumi was doing much good, 'guarding' the hopefully–not–a–body (read, standing around and praying that she wasn't attacked). But hey, she was still doing a better job than if she'd been ranting at one or both of them. So she kept her mouth shut, and her eyes well away from theirs.

"Oh, now I get it. You feel guilty." And Komaeda sighed, a truly maddening noise if Kuzuryuu's reaction was any indication. "How disappointing… I would have thought a Super–High–Sch–"

And he had gone too far.

"Damn right, I feel guilty! I shouldn't have let her stay in her own cabin. Actually - why the fuck'd you go and talk me into _that_, huh?!" In a flash, Kuzuryuu had whirled on the supposedly 'lucky' guy – one hand reaching for his collar, and the other in the pocket of his own jacket. Though the latter made a big show of throwing up his hands and backing away, the tension between them was electric. Togami was trying to ignore them, maybe hoping that they'd quieten if he didn't interfere, but whenever the gangster moved, Koizumi noticed that Togami was moving as well; edging a little closer to the conflict.

"Were you trying to get her fuckin' killed?" Kuzuryuu's eyes narrowed in suspicion, he was thinking, thinking, and suddenly, very suddenly, he'd managed to put two and two together. "Wait a second… You! You were supposed to be pretty fucking close to Peko last night! What did you do?!"

His voice now carried a horrible threat, and one that made enough sense for Togami to hold his silence a little longer. Even Koizumi blinked, resisting the urge to check Komaeda's thoughts and find out whether or not he had actually done that. If he'd just been able to get a weapon, it would have made complete sense. He, of everyone, could have snuck up on Pekoyama, gotten into a fight in the complete darkness. She hadn't been suspicious before, because he had turned up injured afterwards, but what if that had been part of his plan–? Koizumi was definitely going to have to check through his thoughts later, but decided that it could be done when Komaeda wasn't two lines away from getting his throat torn out.

_On the other hand, when **isn't** he that?_

The accused just laughed, spreading his arms wide. "Me? Try to kill a Super–High–School–Level–Anything? Oh, no… I'm just a really lucky guy. I'm not talented, like any of you. I could never have your kind of hope!" He paused. "Besides, do you really want to think that a talented swordswoman such as Pekoyama could fall prey to _luck?_"

"Just shut your fucking mouth already!"

Kuzuryuu lunged. For a moment, the tiny blade of a pocket knife glinted, then it was gone. Thankfully, not because it had wound up in someone's chest – Togami had come between them at last, wresting away the weapon. There was an awkward silence, during which the combatants were too shocked to say anything and Koizumi was too frightened. Right when she figured she should probably say something, and Kuzuryuu opened his mouth to start yelling again, the heir's voice rang out:

"Cease this bickering at once!"

Koizumi didn't like him much, but even she had to admit that his timing was glorious. It shut them all up, and better still, kept the other two guys from murdering each other for at least a few more seconds. With a grim expression, he turned to Komaeda. "You. I don't know if you did something last night, but you did suggest she be left in her own cabin. For your own sake, and for mine, leave. We shall talk more on this when the time is right." He adjusted his glasses. "But make no mistake. I _will _find out what happened during that blackout. And if you are indeed involved–"

"–you'll make me the next stepping stone? Make sure to consult me first. I'm sure between the two of us, we could create a truly blinding hope!"

And he strolled off, leaving Koizumi to wonder.

_Is he the mastermind? He completely goaded Kuzuryuu there. As though he was used to controlling him. What if he couldn't control Pekoyama in the dark, because he had no chance of eye–contact, and she fought back?_

It would make a scary amount of sense - almost enough for it to be true. Of course, Koizumi had read Komaeda's mind, a day ago (that admittedly felt like forever now,) but had she really read it? Eyeing his back, she frowned. Back then, there had been too many irrelevant thoughts for her to find what information she'd wanted out of him. What if that was his technique for blocking her? She'd kind of assumed that it would be a similar radio silence to Mioda's resistant traits, but - _darn,_ she should have read more of that book, back in the cabin when she'd actually had the time, but all she'd done was whine and mope about The Whole Hanamura Issue.

Next time she got the chance, Koizumi was going to skip to whatever chapter of the book dealt with how to tell the difference between "someone who's resistant", "someone who's the brainwasher", and "someone who's actually just annoying to mind-read". It'd certainly make this whole antagonist-finding thing easier.

With great strength of mind, Togami ignored Komaeda's thoroughly disrespectful exit, turning to a still–fuming Kuzuryuu. "Now. I understand your upset, but you are not helping the situation at hand."

"What _will?!_ You keep saying Tsumiki's on her way, but that–" and here, a large collection of horrifying adjectives "–hasn't shown up yet! You're doing jackshit, I don't know how to fuckin' help her–"

"Mioda, Tanaka, Saionji, Nidai, and Nanami are all searching for Tsumiki, and I trust they will find her. Koizumi and I are guarding Pekoyama, in case this was not a simple accident." How on earth Togami had managed to draw the strength needed to talk right over the top of this veritable ball of anger was anyone's guess – but he _managed, _all right. Kuzuryuu's mouth closed with an ugly snap, and he looked away.

"I… I…"

Now it was Togami's turn to put a hand on Kuzuryuu's shoulder. Unlike with Komaeda, there was no anger or flinching, though the other guy definitely shook, and wouldn't meet the heir's gaze. Koizumi watched in silence, feeling more like an observer than anything else. Really, what other role could she have had here? Brainwasher or not, the heir seemed to have good intentions, and he was definitely a better talker than her. She didn't see the gangster swearing never to let Togami anywhere near him, for instance – and as much as that stung, it was _true._

"Trust me", he was saying. Though his voice seemed cold, it still felt trustworthy – in a cold, logical way. "As your leader, I have made sure that everything I could think of is being done. Unless you have any more suggestions?"

"I–I want to watch her, too." Liziruii licked dry lips, risking a glance up at Togami. "Yeah, I'm gonna watch her. And if you try to stop me–"

"I won't try." It was a little quick, got a flicker of suspicion and a step back from Kuzuryuu, but Togami leaned away as though _he'd _been planning on breaking the contact first. Folding his arms, he turned and moved back to his original place, watching the path leading between the cabins. "We will wait here, until Tsumiki arrives. It is all we can do."

Kuzuryuu nodded, gingerly kneeling by Pekoyama's side. Feeling a wave of emotional pain from him, strong enough that she didn't even need to look him in the eyes, Koizumi turned her back on both of them, staring down the path in the opposite direction to Togami. It didn't help much, since she couldn't close her own eyes, but it felt a little more muted – more discomfort than pain, and she didn't know any of the specifics.

Koizumi took a breath, and tried her best to smile. Sometimes, it really was best not to know what others were thinking.

* * *

**A/N: **First off - twenty whole chapters is pretty hella stuff for me! I'm surprised we made it this far, but let's see if we can't make it all the way.

Second off... So many conflicts, whoaaaaa. It'll tie together in the next chapter, though! With a super-cool new motive, too. This one's an oldie, but a goodie - a real staple of shipfics, I think you'll find.


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